Kiwoom Heroes outfielder Park Joo-hong (22) has been removed from the first team roster. Park was named to the first-team roster just two days ago, but has been dropped back to the second team.
Kiwoom Heroes head coach Hong Won-ki made changes to his first-team roster ahead of the team’s 13th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Samsung Lions at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Friday.
Outfielder Lee Hyung-jong and infielder Kim Soo-hwan were promoted, while outfielders Kim Jun-wan and Park Joo-hong were dropped to the second team. Lee Hyung-jong and Park Joo-hong are the two most notable additions. Park was called up to the first team on March 23. However, he had a disappointing performance against the Doosan Bears in Gochuk the previous day, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.
In the Futures League, Park is batting .316 with 49 hits, eight home runs, 29 RBIs and 34 runs scored in 46 games, but in the first team, he is batting .136 with six hits, one RBI and five runs scored in 24 games. It’s frustrating for Hong that he hasn’t been able to break out since being drafted in 2020. In his four seasons in the first team, he has a batting average of 0.171 in 81 games.
When we met before the game, Won-ki Hong said, “Park Joo-hong is a sore finger. He has high expectations from the club and the field. His performance in the second team is good, but it’s not easy for him to adapt to the first team. Seeing him play the day before, I think he needs more preparation.”
Lee Hyung-jong was batting .223 in the first team this season. He was called up 23 days after being sent down the last three days. In eight games in the Futures League, Lee batted nearly .296 (8-for-27) with eight doubles and six RBIs, adjusting his batting average.
Manager Hong Won-ki said, “It’s been almost a month since Lee Hyung-jong went down. We need to check his hitting in the second team. Also, we only have lefties in the outfield. We need a right-handed hitter, so we called up Lee Hyung-jong and Kim Soo-hwan.”
Kiwoom suffered a midweek sweep against Gocheok Doosan in Daegu. They are at the bottom of the league with 46 wins, 67 losses and three draws. They have lost three straight.스포츠토토
Hong said, “The team continues to go in a bad mood. We are getting used to losing. For the team to perform well, we need to avoid losing streaks. It’s a complicated situation.”
Kiwoom will play third baseman Song Sung-moon, second baseman Kim Hye-sung, left fielder Ronnie Dawson, shortstop Kim Hwi-jip, center fielder Lee Joo-hyung, right fielder Joo Sung-won, designated hitter Lim Byung-wook, first baseman Kim Soo-hwan and catcher Kim Xiang. The starting pitcher is Ahn Woo-jin.