You don't have to win, right? Director Lee Seung-yeop's last year is going to the real test → Realistic contract renewal Maginot Line
Jan 02, 2025
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It's the last year of the contract. Manager Lee Seung-yeop led Doosan to the postseason for the second consecutive year. However, he was eliminated from the wild card game for the second consecutive year. Doosan is known to have strong confidence in manager Lee Seung-yeop, but it is difficult to turn a blind eye to fans without results.
If you look at Doosan's recent offseason moves, it doesn't seem to want coach Lee Seung-yeop to win. First of all, there is no recruitment of external FA. When a winning contractor is brought as the head coach, the club actively supports up to 'FA gift'. Jamsil Rival LG recruited outfielder Park Hae-min, 2023 catcher Park Dong-won as an FA in 2022 and won. LG also brought relief pitcher Jang Hyun-sik and Kim Kang-ryul to the FA this winter. Doosan recruited Yang Eui-ji, the best catcher in Korea, for up to 15.2 billion won for 4+2 years when Lee Seung-yeop took office. After the 2023 season, big guns Yang Seok-hwan and reliever Hong Gun-hee, who were internal FA, were retained, but Heo Kyung-min and Kim Kang-ryul were lost to KT and LG, respectively in the stove league.
This offseason, Doosan deserved to be interested in the FA market. As the starting lineup collapsed in 2024, the bullpen was overloaded. Both starting bullpens needed reinforcement. Starting Um Sang-baek (Korean currency four-year 7.8 billion won contract), Choi Won-tae (Samsung four-year 7 billion won contract), relief Jang Hyun-sik (LG four-year 5.2 billion won contract), Lim Ki-young (KIA three-year 1.5 billion won contract), and Lee Yong-chan (uncontracted) were on the market. As the main shortstop Kim Jae-ho retires, the infield is also on alert. Shortstop Shim Woo-joon (four-year, 5 billion won contract) and Ha Joo-seok (uncontracted) were FA, but Doosan also did not give a glance.
However, this does not mean that it has entered a full-scale reconstruction. The batting lineup, including Jung Soo-bin, Yang Seok-hwan, Kim Jae-hwan, and Yang Eui-ji, is in good shape.
He focused on foreigners rather than FA. It invested a total of 1.8 million dollars (about 2.64 billion won) in starting pitchers Col Irvin and Jack Rogue. Irvin is a big man who pitched 111 innings in the major leagues in 2024. Kwak Bin, the first starter in Korea, has begun to emerge as the ace of the national team. In the bullpen, rookie Kim Taek-yeon and Lee Byung-hun, who showed rapid growth, are confident.
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Stabilizing the starting rotation is the top priority. Starting with Ervin Rogue Kwak Bin, opportunities are expected to be given to Choi Seung-yong, Choi Won-joon, Choi Joon-ho, and Kim Yu-sung. At the back door, the key is to build a rich must-win group while reducing dependence on Kim Taek-yeon.
Confusion in the infield is also a task for coach Lee Seung-yeop to solve. The main shortstop is in limbo. Kang Seung-ho, who was watching the second base, is expected to return to third base, and a major surgery is expected. Park Joon-young, Lee Yoo-chan, Oh Myung-jin, Park Ji-hoon, and Yeo Dong-gun will compete indefinitely through spring camps.
The final report card is important as well as the process. In his first year in office, Lee Seung-yeop ranked fifth in the regular season and took the postseason. Last year, he rose one spot to fourth place, but became the scapegoat for the first time in history to lose fifth place in the wild card game. It is expected that the minimum justification will be secured only when the tag of a postseason career '0 wins' is removed.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
