This June 19, 2025, file photo shows Jeon Min-jae of the Lotte Giants during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game against the Hanwha Eagles at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Trying to win for the first time in over two weeks, the Lotte Giants have lost versatile infielder Jeon Min-jae to an oblique injury.
Before taking on the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Thursday, Giants manager Kim Tae-hyoung said Jeon could be out for up to three weeks.
Jeon, 26, joined the Giants in a trade from the Doosan Bears in November last year. He got off to a fast start for his new club and even led the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in batting average in late April before getting hit in the face by an errant pitch.
He stayed hot at the plate after missing about two weeks and batted .388 in May.
However, Jeon hit only .210 in June and then .111 in July, gradually losing his playing time in the process. He showed some signs of life in August with a .267 batting average before hitting the sidelines again.
Jeon has mostly played shortstop but has also appeared at second base and third base.
The Giants are winless in their past 11 games, with 10 losses and one tie. Their last victory came on Aug. 6. Their overall record stands at 58-55-4 (wins-losses-ties), still good for fourth place, but they have fallen eight games behind the second-place Hanwha Eagles and are sitting only 1 1/2 games over the two clubs tied for fifth, the Kia Tigers and the KT Wiz.
(Yonhap)
