Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyoung watches his team play the Kia Tigers in a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul, in this July 6, 2025, file photo. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Having won just three of their past 10 games in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the Lotte Giants shook up their roster Wednesday before facing the Kiwoom Heroes on the road.
They welcomed back two infielders from the sidelines, with second baseman Go Seung-min returning from an oblique injury and third baseman Son Ho-young from a finger injury. Go was inserted in the starting lineup for the game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, while Son will be available on the bench.
Another infielder, Park Seung-wook, is back from the minors.
In corresponding moves, the Giants removed three players from their active roster, most notably slumping infielder Jeon Min-jae.
Jeon was leading the KBO with a .387 batting average when he was hit in the face by an errant pitch during a game against the Heroes on April 29. After missing a couple of weeks, Jeon batted a robust .388 in May, before hitting a speed bump.
Jeon batted .210 in June and was batting .211 in 12 games in July before Wednesday’s demotion.
“Rather than having him here as a backup, I wanted him down in the minors to regroup for about 10 days or so,” Giants manager Kim Tae-hyoung said. “After that hit-by-pitch (in April), I think he stopped being aggressive with his swing. He looks a bit lost out there.”
Kim added going through this roller coaster ride will be an important lesson for the 26-year-old.
“I am sure he will learn a lot from this,” the manager said. “He will have to figure out how to bounce back from a slump.”
Another struggling player, first baseman Na Seung-yeup, had been rumored to be on his way to the minors, too, but Kim decided to keep him around.
(Yonhap)
