'Trade' Son A-seop → Back to the bench just one day after starting: Why? "Not due to defense" [Jamsil Field Report]

*This content was translated by AI.

Recently acquired from Hanwha Eagles via trade, Doosan Bears veteran outfielder Son A-seop (38) was excluded from the starting lineup just one day after making a start.

Doosan is set to face the KIA Tigers in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium at 2 p.m. on the 19th.

Doosan lost 3-7 to KIA in the first game of a midweek three-game series on the 17th. However, they bounced back with a thrilling 5-4 walk-off victory after 10 innings of extra play the previous day (18th).

The team that wins today will be the champion of the winning series. Doosan sits alone in 9th place with a record of 6 wins, 1 tie, and 11 losses. KIA ended their winning streak yesterday. They hold a 10-8 record and are alone in 5th place in the league.

Doosan set its starting lineup for today as follows: Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Park Ji-hoon (third baseman), Park Jun-soon (second baseman), Yang Eui-ji (designated hitter), Kim Min-seok (left fielder), Kang Seung-ho (first baseman), Cameron (right fielder), Yoon Jun-ho (catcher), and Jeong Su-bin (center fielder). The starting pitcher is Choi Min-seok.

Notably, Son A-seop, who was batting second in the lineup the previous day, was excluded from the starting lineup today.

Ahead of today's game, Doosan manager Kim Won-hyung explained the reason for excluding Son A-seop from the starting lineup: "It's more about managing workload than anything else. We want to give Cameron another look. It also helps with managing his stamina, and it's not a defensive issue. Since the opposing pitcher, Yang Hyun-jong, is a left-handed pitcher, Son A-seop has a larger sample size. He hit some decent hits, but the sample size is large. Both are veteran players who have played many games. They are averaging out, and I personally think Cameron might be slightly better."

Meanwhile, facing Doosan, KIA set its starting lineup as follows: Park Jae-hyun (right fielder), Lee Ho-yeon (first baseman), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Castro (left fielder), Na Sung-beom (designated hitter), Han Jun-su (catcher), Jeong Hyeon-chang (shortstop), and Kim Gyu-seong (second baseman). The starting pitcher is Yang Hyun-jong.

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*This content was translated by AI.