Seoul: The Kiwoom Heroes announced Thursday that their outfielder Yasiel Puig will be out with a left rotator cuff injury. Heroes manager Hong Won-ki informed reporters that Puig suffered the injury during a slide back to the first base bag on a pickoff attempt in a game against the Doosan Bears at Gocheok Sky Dome.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the incident occurred during the bottom of the second inning. Despite the injury, Puig remained in the game, completing it with two hits in three at-bats and taking a hit by a pitch. Manager Hong revealed that Puig woke up Thursday morning with pain in his left shoulder, and the initial diagnosis showed damage to his rotator cuff. Puig is set to seek a second opinion on his condition.
Puig, a former All-Star with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is in his second stint with the Heroes this year, having first joined the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club in 2022. After missing a significant portion of the preseason, Puig has had a slow start to the regular season. Over 27 games, he is batting .217/.291/.349 with four home runs and 14 RBIs, while accumulating 28 strikeouts and just seven walks.
The Heroes currently occupy last place in the 10-team KBO with a record of 9-18-0. The team also finished in last place in both 2023 and 2024.