'Hanwha, KIA, and NC remain unchanged': LG's Lee Sang-young sent back to the minor league just two days after being called up due to 'back pain'; Lotte removes nine players from the first-division roster, including a foreign pitcher who threw 157 km/h

*This content was translated by AI.

On a Monday without baseball, a total of seven KBO League clubs made changes to their first-division rosters.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on the 25th that ten KBO League clubs had made roster additions and removals. The most notable change involved Lotte Giants, who removed Elvin Rodriguez (28), who voluntarily exited after just one inning the previous day (24th), and Koo Seung-min (36), who struggled with three earned runs in two-thirds of an inning.

Lotte suffered a 0-10 defeat the previous day after allowing a nine-inning shutout to Yang Chang-seop (29). Rodriguez's early exit in the first inning had a significant impact, though the reason was not injury. Koo Seung-min, who had a 6.00 ERA in six games since being registered with the first division, will now have time for reconditioning. It has been confirmed that his condition is not due to injury.

A Lotte club official stated on the 25th, "Rodriguez visited Good Sam Hospital today (25th) for a thorough examination to confirm his condition. The checkup revealed a back strain. He was removed from the roster to allow the starting rotation one rest turn."

Meanwhile, LG left-handed pitcher Lee Sang-young (26) is heading back to the Futures League just two days after being registered with the first division. Lee received a one-year suspension from the KBO in December 2024 following a drunk driving incident in September of that year.

He regained his eligibility in January this year and underwent a rebuilding process in the minor league. Although he was given a starting opportunity in the Jamsil NC Dinos game on the 3rd, he did not appear in this game and was sent back to the minor league to continue his starting training. On this day, Lee started against the Hanwha Eagles' minor league team in a Futures League away game at Seosan Baseball Stadium in South Chungcheong Province, pitching three innings, allowing seven hits (including one home run), issuing two walks, recording four strikeouts, and giving up four earned runs while throwing 50 pitches.

SSG Landers, who are on a seven-game losing streak, also made changes by removing both pitchers Jang Ji-hoon (28) and Jeong Dong-yoon (29) from the first-division roster. Jang Ji-hoon has been struggling with a 10.05 ERA over his last ten games. Jeong Dong-yoon, after being recalled on the 14th, pitched only two-thirds of an inning in two games before heading back to the minor league for reconditioning.

KT Wiz's Bae Je-seong (30), who has continued to perform poorly since his return, will also spend time in the minor league for reconditioning. Bae returned early from the Australian spring camp due to an injury to his right shoulder subscapularis muscle and focused solely on rehabilitation. Although he returned on the 10th, he failed to deliver good performances in his last two games, allowing four earned runs in three innings each. Additionally, Samsung Lions removed right-handed sidearm pitcher Yang Hyun (34), Doosan Bears removed infielder Park Sung-jae (24), and Kiwoom Heroes removed right-handed pitcher Oh Seok-ju (28) from their first-division rosters, resulting in a total of nine players from seven clubs being sent to the minor league.

Hanwha Eagles and KIA Tigers, both on three-game winning streaks, did not make any changes to their rosters. The last-place NC Dinos also continued to travel with infielder Do Tae-hoon (33), who was taken to the hospital after colliding with a defensive player while running the bases the previous day. Do Tae-hoon had left the game against Suwon KT in the bottom of the seventh inning due to a contusion on his right collarbone. Fortunately, his condition improved, and he returned to the team before the game ended.

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*This content was translated by AI.