Seoul: Having won just three of their past 10 games in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the Lotte Giants shook up their roster Wednesday before facing the Kiwoom Heroes on the road. They welcomed back two infielders from the sidelines, with second baseman Go Seung-min returning from an oblique injury and third baseman Son Ho-young from a finger injury. Go was inserted in the starting lineup for the game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, while Son will be available on the bench. Another infielder, Park Seung-wook, is back from the minors.
According to Yonhap News Agency, in corresponding moves, the Giants removed three players from their active roster, most notably slumping infielder Jeon Min-jae. Jeon was leading the KBO with a .387 batting average when he was hit in the face by an errant pitch during a game against the Heroes on April 29. After missing a couple of weeks, Jeon batted a robust .388 in May, before hitting a speed bump. Jeon batted .210 in June and was batting .211 in 12 games in July before Wednesday's demotion.
"Rather than having him here as a backup, I wanted him down in the minors to regroup for about 10 days or so," Giants manager Kim Tae-hyoung said. "After that hit-by-pitch (in April), I think he stopped being aggressive with his swing. He looks a bit lost out there." Kim added going through this roller coaster ride will be an important lesson for the 26-year-old. "I am sure he will learn a lot from this," the manager said. "He will have to figure out how to bounce back from a slump."
Another struggling player, first baseman Na Seung-yeup, had been rumored to be on his way to the minors, too, but Kim decided to keep him around. Na hit .313 in April but only .195 in May. An eye injury limited Na to only six games in June and he is batting just .154 in July. "We don't really have a good alternative at first base," Kim said. "He has to hit in the middle of our lineup going forward. I think he's slowly getting his timing back, so we'll see where he goes from here."
Despite their mini slide, the Giants are still in third place at 48-42-3 (wins-losses-ties), though only a half game up on the Kia Tigers and two games ahead of the KT Wiz. The Giants are closer to sixth place than they are to second place, with the LG Twins leading them by three games. Kim said he called up Go from the minors a bit ahead of schedule in an apparent attempt for a spark, but Go himself said there is no need to press the panic button yet. "We're still in third place and we're playing some good baseball," he said. "So I am trying to stay optimistic. I know some of the younger guys may be worried about where we are in the standings. But I told them we just have to try to win each day, and the rest will take care of itself."