'Shock injury nightmare' WBC national team 'Moon Dong-ju and Won Tae-in all disappeared', Blue Pace Elbow Injury → LG Yoo Young-chan Replacement

*This content was translated by AI.

Both pitchers, the present and future of the Korean baseball team, shook their heads ahead of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) stage of their dreams. The players showed off their special chemistry with their best friends, but they were hampered by injuries side by side with the tournament just around the corner.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said on the 15th, "We confirmed LG Yoo Young-chan as a replacement for Samsung's Won Tae-in, who has become difficult to participate in the WBC due to injuries, and asked the WBC Organizing Committee to approve the replacement of players."

While Kim Ha-sung (Atlanta) and Song Sung-moon (San Diego), who play in the Major League Baseball (MLB), were unable to play in the WBC due to injuries early on, Choi Jae-hoon (Hanwha) left due to an unexpected injury and even Won Tae-in fell out, creating a big hole.

Won Tae-in felt an abnormality in his elbow during the first spring camp in Guam last month and returned to Korea for a checkup, so no special findings were found.

Later, he moved to Okinawa, Japan, where the second spring camp was held, but the pain in his elbow did not fade easily. Eventually, he returned to Korea once again on the 13th for a thorough examination and was diagnosed with a first-stage elbow flexor injury.

The opinion is that it is not a serious injury, but the problem is that the opening of the WBC is less than three weeks away. An official from the Samsung club said, "It's not a serious injury, but we need about three weeks of rest."

On the same day, Won Tae-in boarded a flight to Okinawa again. The plan is to prepare for the season as early as possible by focusing on training on the side other than the injured area, including basic physical training and rehabilitation.

The injuries of Kim Ha-sung and Song Sung-moon were also painful, but the absence was already confirmed at the end of Saipan's first camp. As head coach Ryu Ji-hyun also checked the physical condition and training attitude of all the players in Saipan camp, so there was no difficulty in conceiving the final entry even though their departure was painful.

Except for the players who participated in the Saipan camp, Kim Hyung-joon (NC), who replaced Choi Jae-hoon, who was injured, was the only one who joined the national team.

However, the loss of pitcher Moon Dong-joo, who throws the fastest ball in Korea, and Won Tae-in, who is considered to be the most complete at this point, is too big a loss.

Won Tae-in and Moon Dong-ju showed off their extraordinary chemistry while bickering to the point where they were called "KBO's Tom and Jerry." In Saipan training, he was a catch ball partner every day. He raised the atmosphere of the training ground with louder shouting than anyone else, and he exchanged opinions every time he threw a ball, making the coaches smile with the improvement of Korea's representative pitcher.

The reality is that there is no suitable pitcher to replace them. In the case of Moon Dong-ju, he could not confirm who replaced him because his injury broke out before the final entry announcement. Manager Ryu Ji-hyun said, "They are all players on our list. I don't think the expression "alternative" is appropriate.

Yoo Young-chan, who was with Won Tae-in in the first camp, was selected as a substitute for Won Tae-in, who is LG's closer. Rather than forcibly selecting additional starting resources, he decided that it is a better option to select a bullpen pitcher whose ability has already been verified and has completed training together.

Currently, Kwak Bin (Doosan), Ko Young-pyo, So Hyung-joon (KT), Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha), Son Joo-young and Song Seung-ki (LG) are not comfortable, but manager Ryu Ji-hyun said earlier that there is a maximum limit on the number of pitches in the first round, and there is a possibility that several starting pitchers will have to play in one game if the pitching staff collapses.

Dane Dunning (Seattle) and Ryu Hyun-jin, the oldest member of the starting lineup, are getting heavier as players who will move between the starting pitcher and the bullpen.

The national team, which suffered from elimination in the first round for the third consecutive time, is showing a strong will to head to Miami, where the second round will be held somehow. a situation in which another obstacle is encountered. Expectations and concerns exist whether a special ace to save the national team can appear.

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*This content was translated by AI.