'Another setback looms before '800 wins for a manager'; Neck injury forces Park Seung-wook off the 1st division roster, Rayles to DH... Rodriguez's shoulder feels heavy [Busan]

*This content was translated by AI.

Park Seung-wook (34) is also out. Another blow has struck the Lotte Giants, who have struggled with three wins and seven losses in their last 10 games. Kim Tae-hyung (59), Lotte's manager, who is just one win away from 800 career victories, faces a situation that leaves him no room for celebration.

Lotte will play a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game against the Hanwha Eagles at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium on the 5th.

With the team sitting in ninth place, a win is crucial, but news of a setback has reached the roster. Infielder Park Seung-wook has been sidelined due to an injury. On this day, Lotte removed both Park Seung-wook and Park Se-jin from the 1st division roster and added Elvin Rodriguez and Lee Seo-jun.

The Lotte organization explained, "Park Seung-wook has been under management for neck strain symptoms since the 31st of last month, but his recovery has not been fast enough, so we removed him from the roster."

Lotte lined up the batting order as follows: Hwang Seong-bin (left fielder), Go Seung-min (second baseman), Victor Rayles (designated hitter), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Kim Min-seong (third baseman), Son Ho-young (center fielder), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Son Seong-bin (catcher), and Jo Se-jin (right fielder). Rodriguez was the starting pitcher.

Park Seung-wook has hit .280 (23 hits in 82 at-bats) in 47 games this season, particularly posting a .407 batting average in scoring position, but he will be unavailable for at least ten days.

Rayles has also been unable to return to defensive play. After showing symptoms of a right thigh cramp during a defensive play in the NC Dinos game on the 31st of last month, Rayles has been used exclusively as a designated hitter since then.

Manager Kim stated, "He was sent out for training today but was pulled back. It was awkward to use him as a pinch runner, so we decided to use him as a designated hitter. I think the defense is similar whether it's Son Ho-young or Rayles. There is no need to force it unnecessarily right now."

This is a crucial game for the manager. Manager Kim began his managerial career with the Doosan Bears in 2015 and collected 645 wins with Doosan until 2022. Since donning the Lotte uniform and taking the helm again in 2024, he has added 154 more wins. A win today would make him the seventh manager in history to reach 800 wins.

Coincidentally, he will face off against senior manager Kim Kyung-moon (68) of Hanwha, who holds the second-most wins in history with 1,048.

Rodriguez, who returned to the 1st division roster today, carries a heavy burden on his shoulder. After a disappointing season with three wins and four losses and an ERA of 5.12 in 10 games, he had been out of the roster due to back pain but will make another start after the 24th of last month.

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*This content was translated by AI.