The Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization, mired in a three-game losing streak and in danger of falling to last place, have pulled out the knives.
Samsung has removed center fielder Oh Jae-il, veteran pitcher Woo Kyu-min, starting pitcher Hwang Dong-jae, and right-handed reliever Hong Jeong-woo from its first-team roster ahead of the visiting KT WIZ at Katwiz Park in Suwon on Saturday.
Instead, he called up right-handed pitchers Choi Ji-kwang and Yang Chang-seop, first baseman Lee Tae-hoon, and infielder Gong Min-kyu, who was recently released from the team.
It was a move to freshen things up.
Captain Oh Jae-il has been in an extreme slump this season, batting just .177 in 57 games.
Samsung manager Park Jin-man has been giving him consistent playing time, but he hasn’t been able to break out of his slump.
On May 15, Park said of Oh, “I think it’s not a mental problem anymore, but a technical problem,” suggesting that he should be removed from the roster.
Woo Kyu-min also struggled this season with a 2-6 record and a 5.68 ERA. He gave up two runs on two hits in ⅓ of an inning against the LG Twins on May 15.
His ERA in five games since June is 7.71.
Hwang Dong-jae made a start against the LG on the 15th and pitched five innings of one-run ball, but was briefly demoted to the second team as part of the team’s game plan.
Samsung has a full starting rotation with Won Tae-in, who recently recovered from a back injury, and Choi Chae-heung, who was released from Commerce.메이저놀이터
Samsung is in eighth place with 25 wins and 34 losses in 59 games through 15 days, a winning percentage of 0.424.
It has lost ground on ninth-place KT and is just one game behind the last-place Hanwha Eagles.