"It's not a situation where Jeong Cheol-won should be on the first team," said Kim Tae-hyung, the manager, who after much deliberation sent him to the second division... What happened to Lotte's ace reliever, a former Rookie of the Year? [Incheon Field Report]

*This content was translated by AI.

What exactly happened to Lotte Giants' ace reliever Jeong Cheol-won (27)? The manager initially deemed him not ready for the first team.

Ahead of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season away game against SSG Landers, which will be held on the 11th at Incheon SSG Landers Field, Manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "Regardless of Jeong Cheol-won's own mindset, it doesn't seem like a situation where he should be moving forward with the first team right now. His pitches haven't looked very good lately, and even in recent live pitching sessions, the ball itself..." He trailed off.

Jeong Cheol-won is a top prospect who debuted on the first team in 2022 and recorded 23 holds to become KBO Shin In-wang-eul (수상)'s leading reliever. After the end of the 2024 season, he was traded to Lotte in a two-for-four deal. Last year, his rookie season with the club, he appeared in 75 games with an 8-3 record, 21 holds, a 4.24 ERA, and recorded 55 strikeouts in 70 innings, fulfilling the role of an ace reliever.

However, this year he has struggled to break out of his slump. Although there were periods earlier in the season when he couldn't focus on baseball due to divorce proceedings with his wife and other issues, even months later, his performance remains stagnant. After recording 1 win, 2 losses, and 3 holds in 34 regular-season games with a 6.75 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 28 innings, he was excluded from the first-team roster on the previous day (the 10th).

This was a decision reached after much deliberation. With closer Kim Won-jung showing signs of instability and rookie college graduate Park Jung-min not receiving many opportunities since his call-up, Jeong Cheol-won's presence would have been a great help. However, Lotte opted to call up outfielder Jang Du-seong, who can provide assistance in late-game strategy and defense, to fill the void left by the struggling Jeong Cheol-won.

On this day, Lotte lined up with Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Na Seung-eop (first baseman), Victor Reyes (left fielder), Han Dong-hee (designated hitter), Go Seung-min (second baseman), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Noh Jin-hyuk (third baseman), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), and Son Seong-bin (catcher). The starting pitcher was Jeremy Wisely.

In response, SSG lined up with Jung Jun-jae (second baseman), Park Sung-han (shortstop), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Jeon Ui-san (first baseman), Bly Madris (left fielder), Choi Ji-hoon (center fielder), Han Yu-seom (right fielder), Jo Hyung-woo (catcher), and An Sang-hyun (third baseman). The starting pitcher was Pedro Avila.

In the lineup, Na Seung-eop's consecutive three-game starts at the second spot stand out after regaining his batting form in the second half with a .383 average (18 hits in 47 at-bats) over 13 games. Manager Kim Tae-hyung explained, "Go Seung-min is an aggressive hitter, and having a fast runner on base becomes a concern. Also, he has often found himself in unfavorable count situations lately, so we swapped him with Na Seung-eop. Na Seung-eop hasn't done badly at the second spot as expected."

Following the heatwave break, Lotte's starting rotation for the second half has been announced as Wisely, Na Gyun-an, Elvin Rodriguez, Kim Jin-wook, and Park Se-woong. Kim Jin-wook, who served as the ace in the first half of this year, recorded a 4.30 ERA over three games in the second half and was removed from the first-team roster on the 3rd.

Manager Kim Tae-hyung briefly replied, "Kim Jin-wook felt anxious himself and came out once; we brought him back this time to see how he is doing."

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*This content was translated by AI.