Can the Lotte Giants, whose weak relief team is weak, embrace Jang Hyun-sik (29), the main bullpen of the KIA Tigers?
Lotte under manager Kim Tae-hyung succeeded in rebuilding its batting lineup during the 2024 season. “Hwang Go Na-yoon” Hwang Sung-bin, Ko Seung-min, Na Seung-yeop, and Yoon Dong-hee have grown into key hitters in the team. Victor Reyes broke the KBO league record for the most hits in a single season with 202 hits. Son Ho-young, who was brought in via trade from the LG Twins, also became the flagship hitter with a batting average of 0.317, 18 homers, 78 RBIs and an OPS of 0.892 in 102 games.
Although Lotte showed off strong attack strength by ranking second in team batting average (0.285) and second in team OPS (0.782), the team failed to advance to the post season. The main reason was its weak bullpen compared to offense. Lotte’s relief pitchers posted an ERA of 5.26, ranking ninth in the league. The Kiwoom Heroes (5.91) were the only teams with higher ERA in relief pitchers than Lotte.
As the winning team failed to play its role, the back door became unstable. “Set-up Man” Choi Joon-yong ended the season early due to shoulder surgery. Koo Seung-min, the “Pillar of the Bulpen,” also displayed performances that did not live up to his name with 5 wins, 3 losses and 13 holds, and an earned run average of 4.84. “Suho Shin” Kim Won-joong, who had kept his record of 3 wins, 3 losses and 16 saves with an earned run average of 2.41 in 30 games in the first half, also collapsed with 3 wins, 3 losses and 9 saves with an earned run average of 4.85 in 26 games in the second half.
Lotte needs to recruit new relief pitchers in the upcoming Stove League. It had to hold onto Kim Won-joong and Koo Seung-min, who are acquiring free agent status, to reinforce its bullpen.
This FA market could be an opportunity for Lotte. In addition to Kim Won-joong and Koo Seung-min, several bullpen pitchers including Jang Hyun-sik, Lim Ki-young, Seo Jin-yong and Noh Kyung-eun can qualify as FA. Since there are various positions such as mid-term pitching and closing pitcher, if you invest wisely, you can compensate for your weaknesses.
Among many mid-level contenders, Jang is a player that Lotte might consider recruiting. He joined the NC Dinos as the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2013 rookie draft. Jang received opportunities to select players and exchange bullpens, but failed to grow as much as expected, recording an ERA of four or more points (4.48-5.29-7.42-4.61) for four consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2019.
Jang Hyun-sik, whose growth in NC has stagnated, wore the KIA uniform through a 2-2 trade in August 2020. KIA gave up Moon Kyung-chan and Park Jung-soo to NC and received Jang Hyun-sik and Kim Tae-jin.
After joining Kia, Jang set an opportunity to turn around. He became a key relief pitcher for Kia with one win, five losses and 34 holds with an ERA of 3.29 in 69 games during the 2021 season. Jang, who ranked first in the hold category alone, became the first hold king in the Tigers’ history.
He slowed down to two wins, two losses and five holds with an ERA of 4.06 in 56 games due to elbow injury surgery last season, but recovered some of his skills this season. Jang contributed to KIA’s regular league championship with five wins, four losses and a 3.94 ERA with 16 holds in 75 games. He played as a must-winner for KIA along with Jeon Sang-hyun, Kwak Do-gyu, and Jeong Hae-young.
The variable is the will of Kia, its original team. Chances are high that Kia will easily send its key bullpen pitcher Jang Hyun-sik. If the team enters the stove league, other clubs may face competition to recruit Jang as they can target him. Attention is focusing on whether Lotte will be able to successfully reinforce its bullpen, one of the tasks that it has to solve in order to achieve its dream of becoming an autumn baseball player. 먹튀검증
