Charlie Barnes, the “left-hander” of the Lotte Giants, was removed from the first division due to an injury to his adductor muscle. It is a huge negative factor for Lotte, which is on the rise. However, it is not that there are no alternative resources at all. Will Lee Min-seok be able to show his competitive edge on the mound of the first division once again.메이저사이트
Lotte’s Charlie Barnes was removed from the first division on Tuesday. Barnes is the ace who has won three games, two losses and an ERA of 3.55 in 11 games this season. Notably, his departure is all the more fatal because he left the mound at a time when Lotte has made its worst start and is showing a good trend with 12 wins, one draw and seven losses, and a winning percentage of 0.632 in May.
Barnes was injured against the Samsung Lions at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 26th. Barnes, who started the game with three hits from the first inning and gave up the first run, was hit by leadoff hitter Oh Jae-il in the second inning, signaling a shaky start. Since then, he has succeeded in inducing Kim Jae-sang to hit a ground ball to the third base, and succeeded in erasing the leading runner with the help of the defense, but gave a walk to the follow-up hitter Koo Ja-wook, causing a crisis in scoring once again.
The problem followed. With one out and runners on the first and second bases that followed, Barnes failed to throw a single strike against Kim Ji-chan, sending a signal to the dugout at the same time as throwing a 139 km fastball for the fourth pitch. Then, after having a few words with the trainer, he voluntarily left the mound. The reason for Barnes’ sudden replacement was due to pain in the adductor muscle. And after an examination at Good Samsun Hospital, the club’s partner hospital, on the 27th, he was diagnosed with microdamage to the left adductor muscle.
Initially, Lotte predicted that Barnes would have to skip a single game until he leaves the mound due to pain in his adductor muscles. However, the results of his check-up show that he is not in a good condition. According to Lotte officials, it will take two to three weeks for Barnes to return to the mound. He may not be able to return until mid-June at the earliest or late June if his recovery is slow. As he has been on the rise recently and has been gradually raising his ranking along with his performance, Aces’ departure is very painful.
Lotte, which crashed two years ago and last year without continuing the good atmosphere at the beginning of the season due to the influx of injured players. In the process of starting the regular season, Kim Min-seok and Han Dong-hee failed to make the opening game entry due to internal oblique muscle injuries, and recently “captain” Jeon Joon-woo has been out of the lineup due to minor damage to his left calf tendon, veteran Jung Hoon has left hip tendonitis, and Son Ho-young, who got to wear a Lotte uniform in a trade, is also out of the lineup due to hamstring injury.
The departure of the main players is certainly fatal, but the departure of the “Ace” pitcher is a little different. In the case of fielders, it is not possible to completely fill the gap, but the resources to minimize it are available, while the selection is one of Lotte’s biggest concerns. In the background of Lotte’s recent uptrend, “Left-wing Lion,” Barnes, “Glasses Ace,” Park Se-woong, and “Sajik Jesus” Aaron Wilkerson all played seven or more innings. The first to third starters are perfect, but the problem is in the fourth to fifth starters.
Na Kyun-an, who started the season as a fourth starter this year, is struggling greatly with 1-6 losses and 7.49 ERA in 10 games, and in the case of the fifth try, Lee In-bok went down to the second division in the midst of repeated slumps, there is no owner. In addition, Barnes left the team, which made the starters worry even bigger. Still, if there is something that Lotte has been less concerned about, it recently took the “test” process by giving the candidates for the fifth start a chance to take the mound. Kim Jin-wook, a “special promising player” who pitched hard with three runs (three earned runs) in four ⅓ innings against Samsung on the 25th, will take on the role of the fifth try for the time being.
The “2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League” game between the Lotte Giants and the Doosan Bears took place at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on May 18, 2024. Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung is preparing for the game
If Park Se-woong, Wilkerson, Na Kyun-an, and Kim Jin-wook maintain the rotation, who will fill the gap in Barnes? Currently, Lee Min-seok, a promising fire bowler with a maximum of 155 kilometers, is highly likely to join the starting rotation. Lee Min-seok, who spent the entire season under Tommy John surgery last year, was called to the first team once as he performed well in the second team this year, and showed his potential by allowing two runs (two earned) in three ⅓ innings against the Doosan Bears on the 19th. His maximum speed was also marked up to 154 kilometers, erasing the aftereffects of his injury.
Lee only threw three ⅓ innings due to finger bruising in his first game, but it was not a serious injury. When asked about Lee in an interview with reporters ahead of the Sajik KIA Tigers on the 21st, manager Kim Tae-hyung said, “Lee Min-seok was excluded from the first team because he thought it would be a little difficult to make a turn on the 5th. His pitching was good. The tempo was fast and the ball was good. All the balls went in near the strike zone. He threw much better than I thought. The speed also comes up to 154 kilometers, and as soon as I got the ball from the catcher, I liked the pitch’s tempo.”
Lee Min-seok, who was canceled from the first division due to finger bruising, coincidentally took the mound of the second division on the 26th. Lee Min-seok left 49 pitches, three hits (one homer) and four strikeouts and one run (one earned run) in three innings, including spraying balls up to 150 kilometers against KIA’s second division. Considering Lee In-bok’s poor performance with eight runs (seven earned runs) in four innings in KIA’s second division on the 25th and Barnes’ injury in the game on the 26th, Lee Min-seok is highly likely to be a replacement if he finds a replacement without changing the starting rotation. It may be difficult to spray 100 pitches right now, but he can leave it to the line of 6 to 70 pitches for four innings.