'It's stubbornly not working out' LG's Lee Jae-won sidelined for four weeks due to minor hamstring strain... Can he return during the September AG absence period? [Jamsil On-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

'It's stubbornly not working out.' LG Twins right-handed power hitter and promising player Lee Jae-won (27) will miss a month due to injury.

On the 18th, ahead of their home game against KT Wiz at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium for the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season, LG announced changes to its first-division roster. Outfielder Lee Jae-won (27) was removed from the first-division lineup, and infielder Son Yong-jun (26) filled the vacancy.

The reason was injury. During a defensive play in Jamsil's match against SSG Landers on the 16th, Lee Jae-won felt pain in his left hamstring muscle. LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop expressed concern: "Lee Jae-won tore his hamstring while fielding. He likely needs to rest for two weeks, and we may need to monitor him for four weeks or more."

According to an LG club official, Lee Jae-won underwent a medical examination at a hospital that morning and was diagnosed with a minor left hamstring strain requiring 3–4 weeks of rehabilitation. Given that hamstring injuries typically last over a month, a return by the end of September rather than mid-September cannot be ruled out.

What is particularly unfortunate is that this coincides with the period when Lee Jae-won was expected to receive significant playing opportunities: the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Korea national baseball team manager Ryu Ji-hyun has selected Moon Bo-kyung (26) and Kim Young-woo (20) from LG. The team will depart around September 15 and begin their gold medal hunt with the Group Stage match against Taiwan on September 21.

As a right-handed power hitter and promising player, Lee Jae-won was considered a candidate to fill the batting order gap left by Moon Bo-kyung. However, his performance this season has been lackluster: .233 batting average (86 at-bats, 20 hits), 4 home runs, 16 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.762 across 45 games. Compounding the issue, his injury has now sidelined him from the lineup.

Son Yong-jun, who had been performing well in the Futures League, will take Lee Jae-won's spot. In this year's Futures League, Son hit .347 (90 hits in 259 at-bats) with 3 home runs, 40 RBIs, and 47 runs scored across 68 games, posting an on-base percentage of 0.418 and a slugging percentage of 0.444. Manager Yeom emphasized: "Son Yong-jun is gaining experience in Lee Jae-won's position. He will need to play more defense. In the minor league, he was constantly playing games with little time for training, but in the first division, infielders must excel defensively to be used."

Meanwhile, LG constructed its lineup for the day as follows: Shin Min-jae (second baseman), Park Hae-min (center fielder), Austin Dean (designated hitter), Moon Jung-bin (first baseman), Song Chan-ui (left fielder), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Park Dong-won (catcher), Lee Young-bin (third baseman), and Hong Chang-gi (right fielder). Starting pitcher: Im Chan-kyu.

In response, KT set its lineup as: Choi Won-jun (center fielder), Kim Hyun-soo (first baseman), Ahn Hyeon-min (right fielder), Sam Hilliard (left fielder), Heo Kyung-min (third baseman), Kim Sang-su (second baseman), Kim Min-hyuk (designated hitter), Jo Dae-hyun (catcher), and Jang Jun-won (shortstop). Starting pitcher: So Hyoung-jun.

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*This content was translated by AI.