"I didn't expect it to take this long. A short-term extraterritorial system that didn't make use of it. A solid six weeks is better than a clumsy injury?

Jul 03, 2024

Lotte and KIA match to be held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 27th. Lotte Barnes is warming up. Busan = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2024.06.27/

"As it keeps getting longer...."

Lotte Giants currently do not have one foreign player in the entry. This is Charlie Barnes (29), a left-hander ace. He was excluded from the first-team entry on May 27 due to micro-damage of the muscles inside his left thigh.

Since it was not a major injury, the recovery and rehabilitation period was expected to be 2 to 3 weeks. Considering the appearance of the Futures League, he thought he could return in a month.

However, Barnes has yet to take the mound for the first team for over a month. In the Futures League game against KT Wiz on June 28, he only announced his imminent return by playing two innings.

He has been away for a total of six weeks. This season, the KBO League introduced a short-term foreign player system to replace injuries. According to the rules, if a foreign player is diagnosed with an injury for more than six weeks and is unable to participate in the game, he or she can sign up with an injury replacement foreign player before returning to the rehabilitation list.

The KIA-SSG match at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 13th. SSG starter Shirakawa pitches. Incheon = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.6.13/

Three clubs have already used the system. The first one is Shirakawa Keisho from SSG Landers. Following this, KIA Tigers recruited Cam Aldred and Hanwha Eagles recruited Ryan Weiss as replacement foreign players for injuries.

It has a good effect, too. Shirakawa went 2-2 with a 5.09 ERA in five games. Except for poor performance with eight runs (seven earned runs) in one ⅓ inning against Lotte on June 7, he has only 2.49 ERA in the remaining four games. Shirakawa, whose contract with SSG has ended, is also on Doosan's recruitment list, which is looking for alternative foreign players.

KIA Aldred has a 1-1 record with a 3.60 ERA in four games, and Hanwha Weiss has made quality starts in both games.

Lotte won the winning series with a 10-2 victory at Gocheok Sky Dome on the 23rd. Manager Kim Tae-hyung greets his fans after the game. Gocheok = Reporter wook@sportschosun.com/2024.06.23/

Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung said, `I didn't know it would take this long. When the schedule came out two weeks later, I couldn't use an alternative foreign player. If I tried to use a short-term alternative foreigner, I had to use it from the beginning (injury)."

After twists and turns, Lotte ranked first in monthly winning percentage with 14 wins, 1 draw and 9 losses in June. Although he held up well without Barnes, he had no choice but to be disappointed that he would have been able to ease the season a little more easily if he had an alternative foreign player after leaving for more than six weeks of injury.

Barnes will also return in the second half of the year. Coach Gam said, `I think the first game of the second half will be burdensome, and I'm thinking about the second game or the next game."

Lotte will play three consecutive games against SSG Landers in Incheon from the 9th after the All-Star break. Barnes is expected to play his return match on the 10th or 11th.

bellstop@sportschosun.com

"I didn't expect it to take this long. A short-term extraterritorial system that didn't make use of it. A solid six weeks is better than a clumsy injury?

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