There is no future for Bae Ji-hwan in PIT 'Dark outlook', "There is not enough attack power, what about trade cards?" local media
Jul 19, 2024
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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a leading local media outlet, mentioned Bae Ji-hwan in the mailbag section answering readers' questions on the 19th (Korea time).
A reader wrote "Where are players like Bae Ji-hwan, Reover Peguero and Matt Gorsky suitable for the future of this team?" asked. The question is whether Bae Ji-hwan will have a chance again in Pittsburgh.
Reporters Jason McKee, responding, "I don't see the right place for them. I don't think it's enough for him to take over as the starting center fielder given Bae's offense"You can't rest shortstop O'Neill Cruz and second baseman Nick Gonzalez either. Peguero has two options: shortstop and second baseman. After all, I think Peguero and Bae Ji-hwan are the most logical trade cards among the players, not the true group of prospects," he replied.
In other words, if it is difficult to raise Bae Ji-hwan to the big league, use it as a trade card.
Pittsburgh finished the first half with 48 wins and 48 losses. It is 6.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers, who are third in the National League Central, and only 1.5 games behind the New York Mets, who are third in the wild card rankings. If you aim for the postseason, you may be able to give up a substitute to reinforce the starting lineup or strengthen the lineup.
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However, although he is not a fire bat in Triple-A, he has a steady sense of hitting. He has a batting average of 0.354 (58 hits in 164 at-bats), four homers, 23 RBIs, 31 runs, 24 walks, 10 steals, and an OPS of 0.923, in 44 games. This is enough to call him a big league backup outfielder, but there is still no news of the call-up.
The Pittsburgh club reportedly evaluates that no matter how much Bae Ji-hwan hits in Triple-A, he is not at the level of the big league. It is questionable whether it is okay to have hope. Bae Ji-hwan, like Park Hyo-joon (Oakland Athletics) and Choi Ji-man (New York Mets), is unlikely to play on the big league stage in the second half of the year.
Peguero, mentioned along with Bae Ji-hwan, has been noted as a promising infielder, but he is playing for Triple-A this season.
Gorski, who joined as the 57th overall pick in the second round of the 2019 draft, is also a center fielder, but has not made his major league debut yet. He has played 72 games in Triple-A this season and has a batting average of 0.243 (61 hits in 251 at-bats), 15 homers, 47 RBIs, 40 points, 5 steals, and an OPS of 0.818 in total.
jhno@sportschosun.com
