'OPS 0.833' foreign investor who was not the case left... Doosan first base becomes a no-man's-land, when will Yang Seok-hwan return?

*This content was translated by AI.

Doosan Bears' dilemma at first base is ongoing. It is the butterfly effect of starting first baseman Yang Seok-hwan (35) suffering from endless slumps.

On June 30, ahead of the Jamsil Lotte Giants game, Doosan registered infielder Kang Seung-ho (32) to the first-division roster. This was necessary as an interim solution to hold the first base position until a new foreign hitter arrived.

This season, Doosan's first base is virtually a no-man's-land. Yang Seok-hwan, who was supposed to fulfill his role, struggled with a batting average of 0.200 (20 hits in 100 at-bats) in 31 games, along with 1 home run, 7 RBIs, 6 runs scored, an on-base percentage of 0.248, a slugging percentage of 0.270, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.518. Consequently, numerous players have come and gone at first base.

Kang Seung-ho is one of them. Kang, who rebounded with 18 home runs and 81 RBIs two years ago, has fallen into a batting slump for two consecutive years. This year, he has shown production below the league average with a batting average of 0.215 (26 hits in 121 at-bats), 3 home runs, 11 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.580 in 50 games. They also gave a chance to promising power hitter Park Seong-jae (24), but he failed to meet expectations with no hits in 5 at-bats over 4 games.

Manager Kim Won-hyeong expressed regret regarding the call-up of Kang Seung-ho, stating, "(Park) Seong-jae started in two consecutive games, but..." He added, "Seong-jae hits well in the minor league and is a player specialized more in batting. Until a new player arrives, Seong-jae should continue to start, but after watching two games, there were some deficiencies in (defense). We decided to bring up (Kang) Seung-ho so that he and (Park) Ji-hoon can play out the first half of the season."

Ultimately, Doosan's dilemma over not finding a solution for corner infielders extended to replacing the foreign hitter. On June 28, Doosan placed foreign outfielder Daz Cameron on KBO waiver wire. Cameron was by no means a failed foreign hitter, posting a batting average of 0.287, 9 home runs, and an OPS of 0.833 in 75 games during his first KBO season. However, Doosan needed hitters to fill first base and third base more urgently than outfielders at this moment.

However, unlike domestic outfield prospects such as Kim Min-seok (22) and Ryu Seung-min (22) who showed potential, the production from corner infielders simply yielded no answers. Manager Kim Won-hyeong admitted, "It's not that Cameron was slumping, but we considered the parts needed by the current team. In this situation, since (Kim) Min-seok and (Ryu) Seung-min are performing well in the outfield, their playing time must increase, which inevitably means Cameron's position will overlap. That is why we made the decision to (release) him."

The new foreign hitter is likely to be a home run hitter capable of playing both first base and third base. While several names have already surfaced in baseball communities, Doosan has not denied this. Manager Kim Won-hyeong stated, "The club said that the player replacing Cameron will be ready to play after the All-Star Game."

Yang Seok-hwan, the starting point of the chain of movements, clearly needs to show a changed appearance. When asked about the possibility of a call-up, Manager Kim Won-hyeong cautiously remarked, "Anyone watching from the side can see that. He needs to show good performance in the minor league as well."

He continued, "There is definitely a difference between the first division and the minor league. A player who played many games in the first division may see ups and downs in performance when playing in the minor league. However, if a player stays in the minor league for 2-3 weeks and continues to play consistently, I believe some results should come out. I hope that part is met."

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*This content was translated by AI.