The opening series is now over. The Lotte Giants played only two games. But big bad news has already arrived.
Lee Min-seok made a relief mound in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO league Doosan Bears regular season opener away match held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 1st, blocking 1⅓ innings with no runs and suddenly going down the mound while cruising.
Lee Min-seok quickly caught two strikes against Kim Jae-ho in the 9th inning with 2 out and 1 base, then threw three balls in a row and suddenly sent a signal to the third base dugout that something was wrong with his body. The trainer hurriedly jumped up and checked the condition, and the trainer sent a signal to the bench that there was something wrong with the elbow.
Initially, Lotte did not schedule a hospital checkup for Lee Min-seok. However, his condition did not improve even after a day, and he was eventually expelled from the first team entry. And on the 3rd, an MRI scan of his elbow was performed at Good Samsun Hospital in Busan, and it was revealed that the condition was not good. First of all, to confirm his condition more accurately, Lee Min-seok is scheduled to undergo a second checkup.
An official from Lotte said on the 3rd, “For a clearer diagnosis, we plan to decide on a treatment method through consultation with the doctor in charge after the second diagnosis at a hospital in Seoul this week.” do,” he said. Another official added, “We are going to cross-examine it because it is in bad condition.”
Lee Min-seok is a promising prospect who received Lotte’s first nomination in the 2022 rookie draft, and his main weapon is a fast ball that crosses 150 km. Last year, Lee Min-seok took the mound in 27 games and recorded an average ERA of 5.88 with 1 win, 1 loss and 5 holds, revealing his potential. However, he suffered an unexpected injury in his first appearance of the season. 토토사이트
This is not the first time Lee Min-seok has been injured. Lee Min-seok stayed in the ‘rehabilitation group’ for a while after last season ended. According to Lotte officials, Lee Min-seok’s elbow caused trouble at the time. Because of this, after the 1st Guam spring camp, Lee Min-seok did not move to Ishigaki, Japan to check his physical condition, but returned to Korea, and after the checkup, he rejoined Okinawa, Japan, and completed the rest of the schedule.
With Lee Min-seok’s injury, Lotte fell into a state of emergency. Lotte hired several players to find a player to play the role of a ‘bridge’ leading to the starting pitcher and bullpen at the end of the demonstration game. However, while Choi Jun-yong, the “man to believe in,” failed to enter the opening game after a sluggish ERA of 13.50 in the demonstration game, even Lee Min-seok left the team.
Regarding the timing of Choi Jun-yong’s return on the 2nd, coach Larry Sutton said, “It’s been a few days since I went down to Sang-dong, so I don’t know how much Jun-yong has progressed. However, I believe he will steadily supplement the parts he needs in Sang-dong. If he shows up, I will call him up then.” In other words, the possibility of seeing Choi Jun-yong in the first team for the time being is not very high.
The remaining resources are now narrowed down to two. One is left-hander “Rookie” Tae-yeon Lee, and Do-gyu Kim, who recorded 4 wins, 4 losses, 8 holds, 3 saves and an ERA of 3.71 in 55 games last year. Lee Tae-yeon is cruising, but he lacks experience so it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed anytime. And Kim Do-gyu has not regained his former form after undergoing surgery to remove a bone fragment in his elbow last year. In the exhibition game, the average ERA of 6 games was 6.40, and in the opening game, it was sluggish with 2 hits and 2 runs (2 ERA) in ⅓ innings.
After the 2022 season, Lotte signed an extension contract with “local ace” Park Se-woong, revealing its intention to challenge the “presidential power” by recruiting Yoo Gang-nam, Noh Jin-hyuk and Han Hyun-hee in the FA market. However, several bad things are overlapping at the beginning of the season, such as Choi Jun-yong’s slump and Lee Min-seok’s departure. How will you overcome the crisis you faced from the beginning of the season?