The Choi Won-Tae (LG) series will open without him. It’s exactly three days after the trade.

LG and Kiwoom will play a three-game midweek series at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul starting next month. It’s called the Choi Won-tae Series without Choi Won-tae. LG made the trade for Choi Won-tae to Kiwoom at a recent managerial workshop in the United States. The deal was finalized last night.

LG needed a reliable homegrown starter to help them win the Korean Series. Won-tae Choi was the perfect card for LG to acquire. Kiwoom initially demanded a starter from LG, but after negotiations, they settled for three prospects (Lee Ju-hyung, Kim Dong-gyu, and a 2024 first-round draft pick).

It’s a deal that Kiwoom didn’t have to make, and it’s a case of Kiwoom being willing to accept LG’s request. There was also an explanation from Kiwoom president Ko Hyung-wook that the deal would not have been finalized without Lee Jung-hoo’s season out, so it seems like LG was considerate of Kiwoom after the trade.

On the 29th, the day the trade was finalized, Choi Won-tae was scheduled to start for Kiwoom (against Gocheok Samsung Electronics), but his start was canceled due to the trade. However, LG also started Ji-Kang Lee, a prospect from the Jamsil Doosan Expos, on that day. In fact, they could have used Choi Won-tae right away. However, the team didn’t think it was polite to use a pitcher whose start was canceled by his former team due to a trade.

LG’s small gesture is also evident in the fact that they used Choi Won-tae against Doosan in Jamsil on the 30th. Adam Plutko was scheduled to pitch, but was canceled due to a cold, making Choi the natural choice. However, LG may choose to use a pitcher other than Choi Won-tae on this day and use him in the three-game series against Kiwoom, which starts next month. That means he could cook the Kiwoom bats right after his debut.

However, manager Yoon Kyung-yup seems to think that even that would be against the spirit of partnership. On the flip side, he may have considered the possibility of being out-hit by Kiwoom batters who know Choi Won-Tae well. He wanted Choi to have the best debut possible. Indeed, Choi Won-tae pitched six innings of two-hit ball against Dusan on April 30, striking out five and walking none to earn his seventh win of the season. As a result, he will naturally skip the midweek three-game series against Chinjung Kiwoom and will start against Samsung in Daegu on April 5.

If Choi Won-tae’s rotation naturally falls into place against Kiwoom, it could be a case of “Chinjung sniping” or being favored by Chinjung. In any case, LG succeeded in getting the best out of Choi Won-tae’s debut while also taking care of Kiwoom.

Kiwoom, on the other hand, is likely to knock on the door of the paternalistic snipers as soon as prospect Lee Joo-hyung arrives. “Dong-gyu is a good pitcher, but it will take some time,” said Ko Hyung-wook. It’s unlikely he’ll make the first team anytime soon. However, Lee Ju-hyung was used back-to-back in the seventh left field and sixth center field for Gocheok Samsung Electronics on the 29th and 30th.

With Lee Jeong-hoo out for the season, only Lee Hyung-jong and foreign hitter Ronnie Dawson are surefire starters in the outfield. Kiwoom hasn’t given up on the season, so it makes sense to utilize Lee. He was brought in to bolster the batting lineup. He was a key prospect in LG, and Kiwoom also thinks highly of Lee’s future and his defense.안전놀이터

In two games, Lee went 2-for-8 with two doubles, one home run, and one RBI. He combines contact and long balls with decent power. He can play both infield and outfield defense. In Kiwoom, he will be used in the outfield. The best-case scenario for Kiwoom is that Lee will either take the LG mound or lead Kiwoom to victory in this three-game series.