KIA has announced a major shakeup of its roster.
With the KIA Tigers slumping to a 4 percent winning percentage, manager Kim Jong-kook has made a decision ahead of June. On June 29, he removed pitchers Sean Anderson, Kim Dae-yoo, and Jung Hae-young, and infielders Hwang Dae-in and Yoon Do-hyun from the first team roster. On Tuesday, five Futures Team players will be added to the roster in their place. This is an unusual move. .
Anderson was in ace mode in April, but slumped in May with a 7.71 ERA. Jung went 3-1 with six saves in the closer’s role, but his velocity didn’t improve and he was in trouble every time. Hwang Dae-in, who had 91 RBIs last year, fell into an extreme slump with a 2-for-1 double, three home runs, and 18 RBIs. Kim Dae-yu was selected as Park Dong-won’s free agent compensation after posting 37 saves in 2021 and 2022 with LG, but struggled with a 6.92 ERA. Yoon Do-hyun was sent back down to the second team two days after his call-up.
With five second-rounders, it’s a major reorganization. With Anderson’s move to the second team, the possibility of a foreign replacement is being eyed. Adonis Medina is also in a slump. If the foreign pitchers don’t perform, the team won’t be able to jump to the top of the standings. Jung Hae-young will be given a day off and time to readjust to improve his delivery and velocity. Instead, Choi Ji-min will be the closer. He is currently the best pitcher in the bullpen.
Hwang Dae-in hasn’t shown much improvement in his batting form. Kim Dae-yu has also not done much, and his poor pitching has not improved. The first base job will likely go to Byun Woo-hyuk or whoever is called up from the second team on the 30th. Kim Dae-yoo will likely be replaced by Kim Yoo-shin and a pitcher called up from the second team.
Kim has minimized roster changes since opening day. To say that there have been few roster changes is an understatement. In April, infielder Choi Jeong-yong, right-hander Yoo Seung-chul, and right-hander Jang Hyun-shik were added. There were no roster changes after that. On May 14, the only change was the call-up of Shin Beom-soo, who had been struggling with his hitting, except for catcher Joo Hyo-sang.
There were signs of change last week. The team sent right-hander Jeon Sang-hyun and left-hander Kim Ki-hoon, who hadn’t lived up to expectations as the first-team bullpen triumvirate in the wake of the losing series to Hanwha, down to the second team. Instead, they called up Park Jun-pyo and Kim Yoo-shin, and dropped Hong Jong-pyo in favor of second-year pitcher Yoon Do-hyun. After losing back-to-back series to LG, the decision was made to send down five players. In one week, seven first-team players went down.스포츠토토
Most of all, it was a message to change the loose atmosphere and use it as an opportunity to rebound. They didn’t make any changes to the roster and gave them plenty of chances, but it didn’t work. Fans also criticized the lack of call-ups for second-team players. Kim seems to have made the decision based on the realization that a deep reorganization is necessary for a rebound in June.