There’s a sense of weariness on the Lotte Giants’ mound right now. There have been a number of changes to the pitching roster recently. Veteran right-hander Kim Sang-soo (35) has been on the disabled list since September 9 with a torn adductor muscle. Koo Seung-min (33), who had been complaining of shoulder pain, was also removed from the first team roster on the 16th. The two have been two of Lotte’s most competitive bullpen arms this season. In a season where the team was fighting for a postseason berth, they were often called upon to pitch in close games, and the fatigue of pitching with both a lead and a deficit took its toll.
Currently, there are nine bullpen pitchers on the roster, excluding starters and relievers, but they are rarely used in close games. With the team in desperate need of a pitcher to fill the void in the bullpen, Jin Seung-hyun (20) was given the opportunity. After his one-day call-up, Jin went 1-1 with a 4.05 ERA in seven games. On May 5-7 against the Daegu Samsung Lions, he pitched three scoreless innings for the third consecutive day. “We felt that there was hope for us because of what Jin Seung-hyun showed,” Lotte acting manager Lee Jong-woon said.
However, his performance was short-lived. On the 20th, he was removed from the first team roster due to fatigue ahead of a game against the Daejeon Hanwha Eagles that was canceled due to rain. After totaling 58.2 innings (27.2 in the first team and 31 in the futures) in his rookie season last year, Jin has pitched 24.1 innings (9 in the first team and 15.1 in the futures) this season. Lotte was disappointed that he didn’t get more innings, but they needed to fill a spot immediately, so they filled the first-team roster with Kim Do-gyu, who has experience pitching in a must-win situation.
Breaking the vicious cycle. The ups and downs of the starting lineup in the early part of the season have put a lot of pressure on the bullpen, which is often thin when the top of the rotation tires. This led to a tendency to rely on certain pitchers. In the game against the NC Dinos, Na Kyun-ahn threw 104 pitches in the fifth inning and still needed to throw 18 more. This left the team without a pitcher for the sixth inning.메이저사이트
Choi Jun-yong is the only pitcher left in the Lotte bullpen. Choi has pitched consistently since last month, posting a monthly ERA in the low 2s every month. It’s likely that Choi will see more action in order to keep their PS hopes alive, but the rest of the pitching staff needs to take care of business. At this rate, it could have a modest impact on not only this season, but next season as well.