The LG Twins, once considered a starting pitcher-rich team, are struggling to manage their starting staff as the regular season returns. The five-man rotation is still in place, but its members are constantly changing, with Kim Yun-sik and Lee Min-ho, who started the season as the third and fourth starters, respectively, struggling.

LG removed Lee Min-ho from the first-team roster on March 23 due to his poor performance. This is the third time this season that Lee Min-ho has been removed from the roster, but it’s the first time he’s been removed due to injury.

After missing the first part of the season with an elbow injury, Lee returned to health in late May but pitched disappointingly. He was removed from the game against the Changwon NC Dinos on May 22 after pitching just one inning (three runs) due to a drop in velocity and difficulty with his pitches.

Lee Min-ho, who was the centerpiece of the starting staff last year with 12 wins (8 losses), has been stuck in a slump this year with a 5.03 ERA in five games and two losses.메이저놀이터

Manager Yoon Kyung-yeop said, “His fastball has dropped by 10 kilometers. This is a sign that his body is out of shape. There’s no point in going into the game like this. He needs to rebuild his body from the starting line like he did in spring training.” “I think it will take at least a month for Lee Min-ho to return to the first team. The important thing is to find his ball and come back.”

LG Twins pitcher Kim Yun-sik. 2023.6.8/News1 ⓒ News1 Reporter Kim Jin-hwan

This means that both Kim Yun-sik and Lee Min-ho, who were projected as 3-4 starters before the start of the season, have been removed from the first team roster.

Kim Yun-sik, Lee Min-ho’s motivation for joining the team, has also been disappointing. Kim has pitched in 11 games with an up-and-down record of 3-4 with a 5.29 ERA. He was placed on the disabled list on April 9 due to his back condition.

The absence of Kim Yun-sik and Lee Min-ho also disrupted LG’s plans for its starting rotation. Initially, Yoon and Lee were utilized as the third and fourth starters, while Kim Yoo-young, Im Chan-kyu, Kang Hyo-jong, Lee Ji-gang, Kim Hyung-joon, and Kim Dae-hyun were used to prepare a total of eight domestic starters.

“If we can solve our weaknesses, such as our 3-5 starters and long relievers, we will definitely be able to play more interesting baseball,” Yeom said, but after 69 regular-season games, it hasn’t worked out as planned.

Lee Sang-young, who was discharged from the military on Dec. 12 after leading the Futures League in wins, was also sent down to the reserve after two starts. In Yeom’s mind, the starter is a trump card for the 2024 season.

In the end, LG decided to reorganize its starting lineup. Im Chan-kyu has taken over as the third starter, with Lee Ji-gang and Lee Jung-yong taking up the remaining starting spots.

LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop. 2023.5.23/News1 ⓒ News1 Reporter Yoonseong Koo

“The starting lineup was barely 10 percent of what I had prepared, and although Im Chan-kyu did a good job and filled in 40 percent of the gaps, I still have a lot of worries about the 3-5 starters,” Yeom said.

LG has given Kim Yun-sik and Lee Min-ho time to get back on their feet, but they don’t have a lot of time to spare. Yeom emphasized the need to finish “setting up the team” in the second half.

“We need to finish the regular season in first place. “We will finish the auditions in the first half. In the second half, domestic starters should be able to pitch more than five innings.”

For LG, Kim Yun-sik and Lee Min-ho are in top form and can provide strong starting baseball when they rejoin the first team.

“I hope Kim Yun-sik can show the same kind of form in the second half of this year as he did in the second half of last year. “It was thanks to him that LG was able to rebound and finish second in the regular season last year, so we are preparing him for the second half of the season with a long view,” said Yeom.

For now, LG has no choice but to hold on for the rest of the first half. “It’s a choice to strengthen the depth of the starting lineup in the second half. In a month’s time, we will be able to play better and more starting cards,” he said, adding, “It’s hard now, but we have to endure.”