'Major Shift': Lotte Removes 4 Players from Roster, Calls Up 4 Others — Why? Manager Kim Tae-hyung Explains [Busan Field Report]

*This content was translated by AI.

Lotte Giants announced its starting lineup for the first of three consecutive games against KIA Tigers in the first half of the season.

Lotte will face KIA at 6:30 p.m. on the 7th at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium in a regular-season home game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

Last week, Lotte recorded two wins and one loss in a three-game series against KT Wiz, successfully completing a winning series before returning home. This season, Lotte has posted 36 wins, two draws, and 44 losses. The team currently ranks eighth in the league standings, trailing seventh-place NC Dinos by 2.5 games and fifth-place Doosan Bears by five games.

For today's game, Lotte set its starting lineup as follows: Hwang Seong-bin (center fielder), Go Seung-min (first baseman), Reyes (left fielder), Han Dong-hee (designated hitter), Park Chan-hyung (third baseman), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Han Tae-yang (second baseman), Jang Du-seong (right fielder), and Son Seong-bin (catcher). The starting pitcher is Rodriguez.

Additionally, Lotte removed Park Se-woong, Jung Hyun-soo, Na Seung-yeop, and Yoon Dong-hee from the first-team roster while calling up Lee Min-seok, Han Tae-yang, Jung Dae-sun, and Kim Dong-hyun to the first team.

Ahead of today's game, Manager Kim Tae-hyung addressed the removals of players such as Yoon Dong-hee and Na Seung-yeop from the roster: "We'll need to see how things develop. They could rest for about two games in the second half before returning. The players who take their places will fill the gap. Han Tae-yang will move to second base, Jang Du-seong to right field, and Go Seung-min to first base," he explained.

In response, KIA set its starting lineup as follows: Park Jae-hyun (left fielder), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Castro (designated hitter), Na Sung-beom (right fielder), Han Jun-soo (catcher), Park Sang-jun (first baseman), Kim Seon-bin (second baseman), Kim Kyu-seong (shortstop), and Kim Ho-ryeong (center fielder). The starting pitcher is Kim Tae-hyung.

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*This content was translated by AI.