'Can't use him in autumn baseball...' Go Woo-seok's dilemma: playing too well, "What is Kim Kang-ryul preparing for?" Yeom Kyung-yeop's hidden card [Jamsil on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

'Mr. Zero,' displaying overwhelming presence, Go Woo-seok (28) is performing exceptionally well, yet there is no room for pure celebration. This is because he cannot participate in autumn baseball. Yeom Kyung-yeop (58), LG Twins manager, is preparing Kim Kang-ryul (38), a fireballer with fragile health, as a replacement.

Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop met with reporters ahead of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game against Hanwha Eagles at Seoul Songpa-gu Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 20th, stating, "We hope Kang-ryul will take over that role, but we need to wait and see." He added, "We are carefully managing Kang-ryul's usage while hoping he can cover for Woo-seok when he is unavailable. This is part of preparing Woo-seok as an alternative."

A saves champion, Go Woo-seok concluded his three-season challenge on the U.S. stage and joined the team earlier this month. In six games, he pitched 8⅓ innings with a record of 3 wins, no losses, one save, and one hold, delivering airtight pitching. He allowed zero earned runs, posted a batting average against of 0.143, and recorded an on-base plus slugging per inning (WHIP) of 0.84, becoming the catalyst for a complete transformation of LG's bullpen.

Alongside this, the team has won six consecutive games, narrowing the gap with second-place Samsung Lions to three games. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop explained the team's upward momentum the previous day: "The most important thing is that Woo-seok came and stabilized the middle of our bullpen, allowing other players to perform well."

In the previous game, Im Chan-kyu delivered a perfect outing with one run allowed over seven innings, but the offense remained silent. Manager Yeom naturally turned to Go Woo-seok next. Woo-seok successfully held the line for one inning, and Son Ju-young secured the ninth inning, enabling a thrilling 2-1 victory.

Manager Yeom stated, "We only faced them once with our white jerseys, but they performed so poorly that we considered it an even matchup heading into the later innings." He continued, "I believe our 7th, 8th, and 9th inning pitchers are stronger than Hanwha's available options, so a one-run lead is acceptable. We have one surefire card to rely on."

This makes Go Woo-seok even more regrettable. Having joined the team after the postseason qualification deadline of August 15, his availability is limited to the regular season.

Although the bullpen has become incredibly solid, autumn baseball must be played without Go Woo-seok. Manager Yeom said, "We will have to rotate pitchers as we did in the first half," while mentioning Kim Kang-ryul's name.

Ahead of the 2025 season, Kim Kang-ryul joined LG as a free agent on a 3+1-year, 1.4 billion won contract. However, frequent injuries limited him to just 12 games last year and four games this season. His shoulder was problematic. Ultimately, he could not participate in the Korean Series.

Injuries continued to affect him this season. After rejoining the first team on the 12th, Kim Kang-ryul allowed one run over one inning against Samsung on the 13th and pitched a scoreless inning against NC on the 16th, raising expectations.

He is not a guaranteed card. It remains uncertain whether he has fully recovered from his injuries. If Kim Kang-ryul fails to meet expectations, the situation before Go Woo-seok's arrival will repeat itself. Manager Yeom is preparing for the worst-case scenario: "Otherwise, we may have to resort to another swarm strategy."

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*This content was translated by AI.