The master asked me to "bring you"...2nd Army → Out of the camp, Lotte 1420 hit veteran's crisis

The master asked me to "bring you"...2nd Army → Out of the camp, Lotte 1420 hit veteran's crisis

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After 14 years, I did "Spirit of Gold" and now I'm in a corner.

Lotte was busy to strengthen its infield ahead of last season. An Chi-hong, who kept Lotte's second base, declared FA and left for Hanwha, creating a huge gap. This is why Lotte only appointed infielders such as Oh Sun-jin and Choi Hang in the second draft.
However, Lotte's concerns were not completely resolved. Then, Kim Tae-hyung, a "master" who came to Lotte, came up with a "myo plan." He suggested to Lotte General Manager Park Joon-hyuk, "Why don't you bring Kim Min-sung?"

Kim just happened to be in the free agent market. Negotiations with LG to renew the contract with the team were sluggish, and Lotte dug into the gap. The conclusion was signing and trade as expected. Kim signed a two-plus-one-year deal with LG for a total of 900 million won, which was immediately traded to Lotte. Lotte handed over infielder Kim Min-soo in return.

Kim played a role of salt in helping LG win the first combined title in 29 years in 2023. He did not hesitate to do bad things, not only as a third baseman but also as a shortstop at times. His performance in 112 games was .249 with eight home runs, 41 RBIs and two steals, which was almost the same as a starting point.

Kim Min-sung, who debuted with the Lotte Giants in 2007, had to leave the team after being traded to the Nexen Heroes (now Kiwoom) in 2010. He then returned to the Lotte Giants again in 14 years. After joining the Lotte spring camp, he said, "Now that I am at the Lotte Giants after winning the championship, I am agonizing over how to spread good spirits. I want to continue to exert my influence."

Kim got off to a flying start by hitting his first homer of the season in the opening game against SSG on March 23 last year, but he completely disappeared from the first team after being removed from the first team roster on June 13. He only posted a batting average of .200 with two RBIs in 35 games last year in the first team. There were also unfortunate moments. He was also hurt by a practice hit near the head. In general, his performance was not easy.

While Kim Min-sung slowed down, new players emerged as the main characters of the infield. Ko Seung-min was the main player at second base, which Lotte considered the biggest concern, and Kim Min-sung's position was inevitably narrowed as shortstop Park Seung-wook and third baseman Son Ho-young emerged as the new main players.

Lotte will hold its first spring camp in Tainan, Taiwan this year. According to Lotte's first spring camp list announced on the 20th, there are nine infielders, but Kim Min-sung's name cannot be found. Along with Kim Min-sung, another veteran infielder Noh Jin-hyuk was also excluded from the first spring camp list. 스포츠토토

This can be interpreted as Lotte's commitment to change generations. On their behalf, Lotte gave infield prospects such as Han Tae-yang and Lee Ho-joon a chance to join its spring camp for the first team, while infielder Jeon Min-jae, who was acquired through a trade with Doosan, was also included in the list, and decided to put all his life and death on the growth of players in their 20s.

Of course, just because he is excluded from the list of players with the top-tier spring camp does not mean that all opportunities will be lost. Kim is a veteran player who had 1,420 hits during his 18-year career in the pro league. It remains to be seen how he will overcome the crisis.