Veteran catcher Yoo Kang-nam (32) recruited by the Lotte Giants to leave his home ground will not be able to play in the second half due to his injury. Suddenly, he will have his home ground only as players in their early to mid-20s.
“Yu Kang-nam underwent surgery for internal meniscal cartilage in his left knee at Samsung Medical Center on the 17th, and it takes seven months to rehabilitate,” Lotte said on Wednesday. If he completes his rehabilitation as planned, he will be in spring camp next year. If this happens, he will not be able to come out in the second half of this season.
In 52 games this season, Yoo had a batting average of 0.191 (26 hits in 136 times at bat) with five homers, 20 RBIs and 26 runs scored with an OPS of 0.599. He started the season amid a severe slump with a batting average of 0.122 through mid-April. After being eliminated from the roster once, he showed signs of recovery with a batting average of 0.257 and four homers in May.
However, he had to leave the game more frequently in mid-June, and could not afford to play after the game against LG at Jamsil Stadium on June 16. Yoo Kang-nam complained of soreness in his left side and was removed from the first team roster on April 19. He was registered on the injured list and sought recovery, but had difficulty returning to the team. 스포츠토토
Ahead of the Doosan match in Jamsil on the 4th, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung (57) said, “Yu Kang-nam is in a bad condition. I think I can tell you for sure only after the first half,” but added, “The second half will be a little difficult. The result is bad.” At the time, a Lotte official said, “You said it would be difficult to come back in time for the start of the second half,” but it finally blew the entire second half.
Yoo Kang-nam is a player that Lotte brought in through a free agent contract at the end of 2022 to resolve the long-term catcher’s absence. At that time, he had high expectations for a four-year contract period, a total of 8 billion won. During the last five seasons with the LG Twins, he was proven to be healthy enough to play more than 950 innings consistently, and he also showed off his framing and long hitting power.
After the end of the 2017 season, Kang Min-ho (39) moved to the Samsung Lions, leaving a gap in the team’s home turf. Na Kyun-an (26), Ahn Jung-yeol (29), and Kim Joon-tae (30) took turns to receive the opportunity, and ahead of the 2020 season, the team also acquired Ji Dong-wan (30) from Hanwha Eagles in trade. In 2021, Son Seong-bin (22) was brought in as the first choice. However, Kim Joon-tae transferred to the KT Wiz through a trade and Ahn Jung-yeol to the NC Dinos as a reward for Roh Jin-hyuk (35). Even Ji was released during this season. Na turned into a pitcher in 2020. None of them were able to settle down properly.
Players who had no prior experience as main players received many opportunities, but the pressure that came from this situation was severe. Catchers who failed to display their skills continued a vicious cycle of making mistakes one after another. As a result, with Yoo Kang-nam joining, Lotte has a player who can take the center stage of the catcher’s team. In fact, Yoo hit 0.261 with 10 home runs last year, instantly resolving the catcher’s difficulty. Now, however, Yoo Bo-geun (25) and Sohn Seong-bin (25) are back in their 20s.
Son has posted a batting average of 0.189 with three homers, eight RBIs and an OPS of 0.646 in 43 games this year. Although his batting average has fallen to 0.056 (1 hit in 18 times at bat) since July, he has been keeping opposing runners in check by banking on his strong shoulders. Information-geun, who has been playing often in the second half of the year, has a batting average of 0.228 with two homers, four RBIs and an OPS of 0.576 in 43 games. Although he is disappointed in terms of batting performance, he has displayed stable defense.
The good news for Lotte is that the two players do not make big mistakes in defense these days. Young players including Ko Seung-min (24), Na Seung-yeop (22), and Yoon Dong-hee (21) have also been batting this season, and are recording batting average of around 300, thus shielding the catcher’s bats. Unlike before, young players are now feeling less pressure.
In fact, even in June, when Yoo Kang-nam hardly appeared, Lotte showed good performance by ranking first in monthly winning percentage. Of course, it is regrettable that the vacuum of the master of the house is unfortunate, but unlike before, a situation has been created to fill it.
