'Won Tae-in → Manning → Lee Ho-sung → 1st round rookie' Samsung's elbow nightmare fell on the top of his foot

*This content was translated by AI.

The Samsung Lions' mound is on alert. Following Won Tae-in (26), the ace of blue blood, Lee Ho-sung (22), who played a key role in the bullpen last year, also left. Even first-round rookie Lee Ho-beom (19)'s physical condition is raising concerns.

An official from the Samsung club said on the 1st that right-handed bullpen pitcher Lee Ho-sung will undergo surgery on the inner ligament of his elbow.

Usually, in this case, recovery and rehabilitation take more than a year. In fact, the 2026 season is more likely to be skipped.

Lee Ho-sung, a graduate of Incheon High School, wore a Samsung uniform as the eighth-ranked player in the first round of the 2023 rookie draft. He had ups and downs in the first two seasons, but he played 55 ⅓ innings in 58 games, including once as a closing pitcher last year, with 7 wins, 4 losses, 9 saves, 3 holds, and an ERA of 6.34.

He showed his collapse in the second half, perhaps due to the aftermath of his first full season season, but it was an opportunity to confirm that Lee Ho-sung, who had been only expecting, could certainly work on the professional stage.

In particular, he boasted his appearance as an autumn man by pitching ⅔ scoreless innings in one wild card game against the NC Dinos, two scoreless innings in two semi-playoffs against SSG Landers, and five scoreless innings in five playoff games against the Hanwha Eagles.

Based on this, Lee Ho-sung was named in the national baseball team in the K-baseball series in November last year.

He raised expectations more ahead of this season, but was hampered by injuries. During pitching training at the second spring camp in Okinawa, Japan, he complained of elbow pain and returned to Korea to take magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and all four hospitals found surgery on the medial ligament of the right elbow.

A Samsung official explained, "Lee Ho-sung had a little basic pain from Guam, the first camp site, so he continued to manage it, and he did not pitch because the pain got worse since the last pitching on the 22nd of last month."

To make matters worse, even rookie pitcher Lee Ho-beom showed pain in his elbow. Fortunately, Lee Ho-beom has only been found to be inflamed so far. Samsung, which was shocked by Won Tae-in and Lee Ho-sung's elbow injuries, will be swept away as they are scheduled to start technical training again after a two- to three-week break.

Earlier, Won Tae-in, who was reborn as the league's top starting pitcher, was dropped from the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team due to elbow pain, and even new foreign pitcher Matt Manning was diagnosed with right elbow surgery and will be replaced.

With the exhibition game about to start right away, a new foreign pitcher has to be found. Most of the available pitchers have already been recruited by each club, and it is not easy to find the right player at a time when some candidates have already solidified their thoughts on the major league challenge.

Concerns over Won Tae-in, who won 12 games last year, are also growing. After being diagnosed with the first stage of the right elbow flexor muscle, he is staying at Ijima Rehabilitation Center in Yokohama City, Japan, and is trying to recover, but it is unclear whether he will be able to raise his pace in time for the opening of the season.

First starter Ariel Furado joined the Panama national team and is preparing for the WBC. Considering that many pitchers have struggled with injuries or conditioning since the WBC in the past, this is also a matter of concern.

Samsung ranked second in 2024, showing scary power, and last year started the fall baseball in fourth place, and after winning the semi-playoff (semi-PO), it became strong by bullying the Hanwha Eagles in the playoffs. He was dreaming of a higher emergency this season, but even before entering the season in earnest, great concerns are pouring in.

Coincidentally, everyone has an abnormality in their elbows and is causing concern.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.