Samsung Closer Kim Jae-yun Left Off PO Roster
The Samsung Lions were hit with major bad news one day before the playoffs. According to Money Today, closer Kim Jae-yun (36), who posted a 7-5 record with 35 saves and a 3.22 ERA in 64 games this season, was left off the playoff roster the KBO announced on the 24th. The club said an MRI revealed a grade 1 injury to the muscle and fascia of his right serratus anterior, requiring at least two weeks of rest. On the brighter side, captain Koo Ja-wook (33), who injured a tendon in his left hamstring against Hanwha on September 30, made the roster in dramatic fashion. Koo won this season’s batting title, hitting .371 with 15 home runs and 102 RBIs in 114 games. Samsung will cover Kim’s absence with a 13-man pitching staff.
Source: Money Today
KIA Ace James Naile Gets Game 1 Start
The KIA Tigers named ace James Naile (33) as their starter for Game 1 of the playoffs, set for 2 p.m. on the 25th at Daegu Samsung Lions Park. According to Money Today, Naile went 13-7 this season while pitching a league-high 183 innings, and he set up KIA’s win in Game 1 of the semi-playoff against the LG Twins by allowing just one run over seven innings. He was also strong against Samsung during the regular season, going 2-0 with a 3.24 ERA in four starts. Samsung will counter with a foreign pitcher signed mid-season who has 32 career MLB wins. He went 7-3 with a 2.95 ERA in 13 regular-season games but struggled against KIA, losing both outings with a 5.25 ERA. Game 2 is expected to feature Adam Oller against Ariel Jurado.
Source: Money Today
KT’s Hilliard: “My Best Is Yet to Come”
Sam Hilliard (32) of the KT Wiz, who earned a direct ticket to the Korean Series as regular-season champions, congratulated his home run race rival Kim Do-yeong of KIA. According to Money Today, after a Korean Series training session at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 21st, Hilliard said, “Winning the home run title by homering on the last day of the season is something really special.” In his first KBO season, he hit .304 with 44 home runs and 139 RBIs in 142 games to win the RBI title, and became the first foreign player to win the monthly MVP award twice in a single season. He was hitting just .232 through April, sparking talk of a replacement, but bounced back strongly. “I don’t think what I showed at the end of the season is my best,” he said as he looked ahead to the Korean Series.
Source: Money Today
Hanwha Makes First Coaching Hires Under Ryu
The Hanwha Eagles announced the first coaching hires under new manager Ryu Ji-hyun. According to Money Today, Hanwha brought in coaches Kim Gwang-sam (46) and Jin Jong-gil (45) on the 23rd. Kim played for the LG Twins from 1999 to 2016, and worked with Ryu as pitching coach both when Ryu managed LG in 2021-2022 and at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) this March. Jin served as the NC Dinos’ strategy, defense and base-running coach from 2013 through this season. Hanwha urgently needed reinforcements after four coaches who had worked with former manager Kim Kyung-moon left the team. Both coaches will join the team’s wrap-up camp in Miyazaki, Japan, which departs on the 30th, and begin working with the players.
Source: Money Today