Lee Chae-ho and Kim Young-gyu, Attempted to Transform Into Start
KT LEE CHAE-HO AND NC KIM YOUNG-GYU, WHO ATTEMPTED TO TRANSFORM INTO STARTERS RETURNED HOME EARLY DUE TO INJURY
Chae-ho Lee suffers an ankle sprain and Young-gyu Kim suffers elbow pain.
As spring training for professional baseball teams draws to a close, KT Wiz submarine pitcher Lee Chae-ho (25), who was trying to transform from a key bullpen to a starting pitcher, and NC Dinos left-handed pitcher Kim Young-gyu (24) returned home early due to injury.
A KT official said on the 29th, "Lee Chae-ho injured his right ankle in a practice game against the KIA Tigers held in Okinawa, Japan on the 25th.
Due to the nature of the second spring camp with many actual games, we decided it would be better to recover in Korea, so he returned to Korea on the 27th." reported.
He added, "A simple sprain was found during a local examination in Japan.
As the opening of the exhibition game is just around the corner, we plan to focus on recovery."
Lee Chae-ho, who transferred to KT from SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) in 2022, appeared in 38 games as a bullpen that year and performed well with 5 wins, 3 holds, and an ERA of 2.95.
However, last season, he performed somewhat poorly, with 1 loss and 1 hold in 25 games and an ERA of 6.93.
KT coach Lee Kang-cheol judged that Lee Chae-ho suffered a "jinx in his second year as a starter" last season and planned to use him as a fifth starter or long relief pitcher in the new season.
In addition, in this spring camp, existing bullpen pitchers such as Ju-won and Kim Min-soo participated in the selection competition.
Lee Chae-ho trained diligently and attempted to transform, but unfortunately ended spring camp early due to an injury.
Kim Young-gyu, who was competing for the starting spot in NC, also returned to Korea early.
An NC official said, "Kim Young-gyu complained of slight pain in his left elbow during spring camp training in Tucson, Arizona, USA, and returned home on the 27th."
Kim Young-gyu is an indispensable core resource for NC.
He led the bullpen with 2 wins, 4 losses, 24 holds, and an ERA of 3.06 in 63 regular season games last year.
He showed an overwhelming performance in all three semi-playoff games with SSG, conceding no goals, and also joined the national team for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and helped win the gold medal.
Kim Young-gyu, who had his best year yet, was preparing for an even bigger leap forward in the new season.
After receiving a recommendation from coach Kang In-kwon, he applied for the starting position.
However, Kim Young-gyu"s change of position took a brief pause.
Kim Young-gyu plans to undergo a detailed examination in Korea and reschedule his future recovery and training schedule based on the diagnosis results.