[Official] Samsung notifies 10 players, including Yang Hyeon, Heo Yun-dong, and Hong Hyun-bin, of non-renewal: "Future restructuring to focus on strengthening roster capabilities"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The Samsung Lions have swiftly initiated roster restructuring ahead of the playoffs.

Samsung officially announced via a press release on the morning of the 19th, "In preparation for next season, we are proceeding with roster reorganization and have decided not to renew contracts with a total of 10 players, including eight pitchers and two position players."

According to the Samsung club, the pitchers listed on the non-renewal list for the 2027 season are Yang Hyeon, Heo Yun-dong, Hong Won-pyo, Park Ju-hyuk, Kim Dong-hyun, Shin Yun-ho, Park Si-won, and Yoo Byung-sun, totaling eight players.

Veteran sidearm pitcher Yang Hyeon (34) joined Samsung after playing for the Heroes and KT Wiz, but he is forced to hang up his uniform amid the generational shift. Yang's career record in the first division is 284 games, 14 wins, 15 losses, 37 holds, and an ERA of 4.22. This season, he made two appearances in the first division, finishing with a winless record and an ERA of 27.00, which was somewhat underwhelming.

Left-handed pitcher Heo Yun-dong, who entered the league as a classmate of KT's So Hyoung-jun in the second round (5th overall pick) of the 2020 draft amid high expectations, also could not escape the wave of releases. Despite generating expectations by recording two wins (one loss) in his rookie year, he finished with a career record of 31 games, six wins, six losses, and an ERA of 6.38 in the first division, failing to turn things around even after completing his military service at Sangmu. He has had no first-division appearances since the 2023 season.

Along with them, right-handed pitcher Hong Won-pyo, selected 15th overall in the second round of the 2020 draft, Park Ju-hyuk from the fifth round, and Kim Dong-hyun, Shin Yun-ho, Park Si-won, and Yoo Byung-sun, who remained in the developmental squad, also received release notices.

In the position player department, two players were included in the cleanup targets: infielder Park Jang-min (23) and outfielder Hong Hyun-bin (29). Hong Hyun-bin, an outfielder from KT Wiz known for his speed, recorded a career batting average of 0.192, 49 hits, seven RBIs, and eight stolen bases in 281 first-division games, along with a career batting average of 0.275 and 87 stolen bases in the Futures League, but he was pushed out in the backup competition and left the team. Infielder Park Jang, who started as a developmental player, also bid farewell without ever stepping onto the first-division stage.

A Samsung official stated, "We made a bold decision to strengthen our capabilities centered on improving the roster's structure and developing promising players," adding, "After thorough future restructuring, we will focus on maximizing the roster's strength for the upcoming 2027 season."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original