'Team Leader in Home Runs and RBIs' Doosan's Second-Year Player Departs, Coach Kim Won-hyeong: "Junsun's Absence Leaves a Huge Void" [Jamsil On-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

"(Park) Jun-soon's position definitely leaves a huge void."

The departure of a key infielder has drawn a sigh from Kim Won-hyeong (54), manager of the Doosan Bears. It highlights just how significant a second-year infielder was to the team's strength.

Manager Kim Won-hyeong met with reporters ahead of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game against the NC Dinos at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 19th, stating, "Oh Myung-jin is handling second base. Even before Jun-soon left, Seung-ho was already playing at first base, but I believe Jun-soon's absence leaves a significant void."

On the 15th, during the bottom of the 9th inning against the Lotte Giants, Park Jun-soon hit a ground ball in front of the pitcher while at bat and felt pain in his right thigh as he sprinted toward first base. A hospital examination after the game diagnosed a partial tear in the front muscles of his right thigh.

It was shocking news, especially since he had been running so well. Park Jun-soon's presence this season was immense. In 39 games, he posted a .316 batting average (49 hits in 155 at-bats), 6 home runs, 27 RBIs, 18 runs scored, a .365 on-base percentage, a .516 slugging percentage, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.881.

Park Jun-soon, who mostly batted third in most games, also demonstrated sharp clutch ability with a .367 batting average in scoring position.

In infield defense, he took responsibility for Doosan's second base, logging the second-most innings (301 2/3) after FA acquisition Park Chan-ho (shortstop).

However, rather than just expressing regret as a manager, it is more important to prepare alternatives to play without injured players. Coach Kim said, "Injuries can happen to anyone during the season. When they do, we must be able to cope with them." He added, "It's not that Oh Myung-jin must fill the second base role specifically; if other players step up in batting and other areas, it will greatly help the team. In any case, my role is to minimize the void when an important player is out. Seung-ho has done a good job in that area, and it seems we got through last weekend's games well."

Doosan lined up with Jung Soobin (center field), Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Son A-seop (designated hitter), Das Cameron (right field), Yang Eui-ji (catcher), Kim Min-seok (left field), Kang Seung-ho (first base), Oh Myung-jin (second base), and Park Ji-hoon (third base) for the lineup today. Oh Myung-jin took the second base position, and Son A-seop was inserted as the third batter.

The loss on the mound is even more serious. Foreign starting pitcher Chris Flexen and closers Kim Taek-yeon and Choi Won-jun are all out.

Coach Kim explained, "Won-jun will start bullpen work next week. Taek-yeon will enter the bullpen about two days earlier. It's not strictly set, but since the timing for entering the bullpen is next week, if his physical condition is normal, he will do bullpen pitching and live sessions, and if there are no issues when he makes an appearance in the Futures League afterward, that would likely be early June."

He continued, "(Choi) Won-jun needs a bit more time. Since the gap has been a bit longer, we need to give him more time to recover." He added, "Taek-yeon has been re-examined and is throwing without major issues, so he will enter the bullpen. We need to check his condition after bullpen sessions. The first bullpen session won't be at 100%; we'll do it 3-4 times, then increase the intensity to check for any stimulation or issues."

Flexen also needs more time. Coach Kim said, "Looking at the timeline for Flexen to return to games, June seems difficult. He isn't even throwing the ball right now. Flexen and Taek-yeon are in different stages of recovery." He added, "Since Flexen is a starting pitcher, he throws more pitches and requires more bullpen sessions. The timeline is definitely different. So, while Flexen might be able to appear in the Futures League in June, it doesn't seem easy for him to return to the first division at his current condition."

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*This content was translated by AI.