There are existing outfielders, so why did the No. 1 team recruit the last-place team? "As long as it explodes..."
Jul 17, 2024
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KIA officially announced the recruitment of Ye Jin-won on the 17th. An official from KIA said "We decided to recruit him considering Ye Jin-won's potential and growth potential."He expressed his expectation that it will help strengthen the outfield depth."
Ye Jin-won, who joined the Heroes in the second round of the 2018 rookie draft, has played in 117 KBO league games with a batting average of 174 (33 hits in 190 at-bats), two homers and 13 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.518. Although he did not make a remarkable performance in terms of batting, he also hit a batting average of more than 300 in the Futures (second division) league. He also showed above average performance in defense and is evaluated as a player with a sense of running base. Kiwoom has also consistently given Ye Jin-won a chance in consideration of this potential.
KIA is supported by Lee Chang-jin, Ko Jong-wook and Kim Ho-ryeong, while the main Na Sung-beom, Socrates Choi Won-joon, is guarding the outfield. In the process of intensifying the pursuit of the second place in the second half of the year, various factors such as the accumulation of fatigue and rotation of outfielders must be considered. It is analyzed that the recruitment of Ye Jin-won considered not only the possibility shown by Kiwoom but also the team's management.
Ye Jin-won's first task is expected to be whether he will show remarkable performance in competition with existing outfielders.
ppark@sportschosun.com
