Will Lee Hak-joo (34), who joined the Lotte Giants under the leadership of general manager Sung Min-gyu but was notified of his release, be able to find a new team. 온라인바카라
Having struggled with shortstop for a long time, Lotte used its foreign batter’s card for shortstop Dixon Machado in 2020. Machado was a success. During the two seasons of 2020 and 2021, he hit the .280-0.279 batting average, or 0.280-0.279, in the late-20s, to keep up with his performances in offense.
What stood out the most was his defense. With his wide range of defense, flexibility and strong shoulders, Machado has emerged as the leader in the infield defense. He only made 21 errors (10-11) during the two seasons. Thanks to Machado, Lotte’s overall defense has stabilized with at least the fourth place (94 errors) in 2020 and at least the first place (85 errors) in 2021.
He has become a key player, but after the end of the 2021 season, Lotte chose to break up with Machado. Lotte, which said goodbye to Machado, brought in a new shortstop in a trade with the Samsung Lions. That was Lee Hak-joo. At the time, Lotte’s general manager Sung Min-gyu had Lee Hak-joo, who had a relationship with the Chicago Cubs after giving up the third round of the 2023 rookie draft with military-pil side-arm pitcher Choi Ha-neul.
The result was a failure. Lee Hak-joo had a batting average of 0.207 with three home runs, 15 RBIs and an OPS of 0.565 in 91 games in the 2022 season. He continued to post a batting average of 0.209 with three home runs, 13 RBIs and an OPS of 0.596 in 104 games in the 2023 season. He also had a batting average of 0.263 with two home runs, four RBIs and an OPS of 0.609 in 43 games, showing little impression.
He was no different in defense. In the 2022 season, Lee played 616 innings at shortstop, making 12 errors. The number was higher than in the 2021 season, the last season of Machado. In the 2022 season, when Lee took over as shortstop, Lotte’s team made 114 errors.
The impact of Lee Hak-joo’s failed trade was largely due to the failure. Lotte reinforced its shortstop again by signing a four-year free agent contract worth 5 billion won (approx. He posted a career low of 0.219 with two home runs, 13 RBIs and an OPS of 0.604 in 73 games during the 2024 season. Instead of Lee Hak-joo and Roh, Park struggled with a batting average of 0.262 with seven home runs, 53 RBIs and an OPS of 0.716 in 139 games, but he showed signs of anxiety in defense by tying for second place (23 errors) with the most errors.
Last November, Lee Hak-joo was notified of his release. About a month has passed since he was released, but he still has not found a new team. Since Lotte failed after Samsung, other clubs are also turning a blind eye to Lee Hak-joo. It remains to be seen whether Lee Hak-joo will be able to overcome this situation and find a new team.
