“I don’t know yet”
Lotte Giants Zack Rex was designated for assignment on March 16 after hitting .261 with two home runs, 20 RBIs, 14 runs scored and a .727 OPS in 30 games this season. Rex’s departure was due to a knee injury: a partial tear of his right patellar tendon.
Rex’s knee hasn’t been the same since. He had been playing in pain due to inflammation, which often resulted in him not being able to sprint as hard as he would have liked, both on the basepaths and in defense.
However, Rex appeared to be on the verge of a comeback just two months after being scratched from the first team. On March 31, Rex played his first game in a long time, starting as the designated hitter in Game 1 against the KT Wiz Future team at Sangdong Stadium in Gimhae. While he didn’t produce a hit, his presence in the game was a sign that his return to action was nearing.
Rex was initially scheduled to play defense in the one-day Futures League to test his health after 31 games if he was feeling fine, but you won’t find Rex’s name in the starting lineup against KT on the first day. Instead, Rex’s name was left off the second team roster, raising concerns.
For now, manager Larry Sutton is not rushing Rex’s return. “First of all, his five-inning outing has been moved to Sunday (April 4),” Sutton said before the game against the LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. If all goes according to plan, Rex will make his first defense on the 4th against the NC Dinos Future team in Sangdong.
“I think it’s important for Rex to go through the rehabilitation process slowly because his injury is in his knee,” Sutton said. “It’s important for him to maximize his physical condition before he plays.”
Although he played against KT on the 31st of last month, his knee was still not fully healthy enough to play defense. The delay in Rex’s return to the defense also puts his timetable for returning to the first team in doubt. “I don’t know yet,” Sutton said when asked about a timetable for his return to the first team.메이저사이트
Despite Rex’s absence, Lotte remains at the top of the standings thanks to the struggles of its domestic outfielders, including Kim Min-seok, Hwang Sung-bin, Ko Seung-min, and Ahn Kwon-soo. With the domestic players performing so well, Rex is likely to be rushed back to the first team once he’s fully recovered.