The Kia Tigers have faced a major setback due to the absence of James Nail from the regular season, who was seriously injured due to a broken jaw. While it is uncertain whether Nail will return to the postseason or not, attention is focusing on when Yoon Young-chul, the “baby tiger,” will return to the team. The Kia Tigers stressed that they have no intention of raising Yoon by force.메이저사이트
Nail injury happened in the match against the Changwon NC Dinos on Aug. 24. Nail, who took the mound as the starting pitcher for the game, was immediately covered up by Davison, the leadoff hitter,’s hitting near his chin in the bottom of the sixth inning. Nail put her glove on the ground and ran straight to the dugout. Davison, who watched the nail injury, looked shocked and was replaced.
The nail immediately moved to Samsung Changwon Hospital and received an MRI examination, and was found to have a broken jaw. Under the opinion that surgery was needed within 24 hours, the KIA team moved quickly and set the date for surgery immediately. Nail successfully underwent a jaw joint fixation at Asan Medical Center in Seoul on the morning of the 25th.
In 26 appearances this season, Nail played 12-5 with an ERA of 2.53 138 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.27. However, as Nail was ruled out for the regular season, KIA faced an unprecedented situation where as many as four of the first to fifth starters (Will Crow, Yang Hyun-jong, Nail, Lee Ui-ri and Yoon Young-chul) left due to the regular season out decision.
“I don’t have time to prepare my nails because they just had surgery,” Kia Tigers coach Lee Bum-ho said ahead of the match against NC Dinosaurs on Saturday. “First of all, nail polish comes first. Head coach Shim Jae-hak or the front desk should watch the situation,” adding, “As for the next situation, I have to take a day off on the 26th after the game on the 25th.” “Since we have a few days left until the order of the nails (in terms of rotation), we need to think about what to do with the rotation.”
“Coach Kang In-kwon called me. You’ll be worried because it’s part of the game, our team is at the top, and the first starter was in an accident. You kept saying sorry, but it can happen when you play. I think we have to dance well,” he added.
If Nail is not able to return to the postseason, Kia’s bench will have to agonize further. Realistically, Yoon has only one option to return to the mound. Yoon has seven wins, four losses and a 4.30 55 strikeout and WHIP of 1.54 in 16 games this season. Since taking the mound against SSG Landers on July 13, Yoon has been virtually ruled out for the regular season due to a fatigue fracture in his spine.
Yoon Young-chul is preparing for a dramatic return in time for the postseason, but there is nothing to guarantee.
“Fortunately, Yoon is recovering faster than expected from his waist injury. First of all, he is preparing to return to the mound just in time for the postseason,” a Kia official said. “As a young pitcher, I have no plans to push ahead with his return. Even if it is for the sake of winning the championship, we should not eat into the future of the player. We will carefully monitor Yoon’s condition and plan to run the mound in the future.”
If Yoon Young-chul can return in time for the postseason, it could be a great help to KIA, which is aiming for “V12.” First of all, with the timing of his return to nails falling into the fog, many people are expected to pay attention to the trend of Yoon Young-chul’s waist rehabilitation in the future.