"We don't evaluate it by records and figures." Lotte gave 8 billion won...What will Kim Taehyung give to Yoo Kangnam who lost 13kg

"We don't evaluate it by records and figures." Lotte gave 8 billion won...What will Kim Taehyung give to Yoo Kangnam who lost 13kg

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"Yu-Gangnam is really important this year," Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyung told reporters in the first practice game of the second spring camp against the Seibu Lions of the Japanese professional baseball at Nango Stadium in Nichinan City, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan on the 23rd.바카라

Yoo Kang-nam, a former LG Twins one-club man, exercised his FA rights before the 2023 season and signed a four-year mega-contract worth 8 billion won (down payment of 4 billion won, annual salary of 3.4 billion won, option of 600 million won) with Lotte. After Kang Min-ho left for the Samsung Lions, Lotte, which suffered from catcher's agony, invested a large amount of money by selecting Yoo Kang-nam as the new owner of Sajik's home turf.

Contrary to expectations, Yoo Kang-nam's life in Busan has been a series of hardships. He failed to meet expectations with a batting average of 261, 10 homers and 55 RBIs in 121 games in his first year, and was excluded from the June 1 entry due to injury in his left knee after wandering with a batting average of 191, five homers and 20 RBIs in 52 games in the 2024 season.

Yoo Kang-nam had to suture the internal meniscus cartilage in his left knee in mid-July and was out for the season. It was a major surgery that took seven months just for rehabilitation.

The 8 billion won (8 million U.S. dollars) in liability was extraordinary. Yoo Kang-nam steadily carried out rehabilitation programs to meet Lotte fans' expectations on the ground, leaving behind sluggish performance and pain from injury. He also lost a whopping 13 kilograms in order to avoid burdening his knee after surgery. This demonstrates Yoo's strong will to rebound.

As a result, Yoo joined the first spring camp in Taiwan and made multi-hits in his own Cheongbaek match, regaining his original form. He is rapidly boosting his pace in Miyazaki, Japan, where the second spring camp is underway. Yoo Kang also reported another hit as a substitute in the match against Seibu on Sunday.

Then, what does the coach expect from Yoo Kang-nam, who is entering his third year as a free agent? "I don't think it's a numerical value that evaluates Yoo Kang-nam, rather than a numerical value," said manager Kim Tae-hyung, who is well versed in catcher management. "As a main catcher, how well he leads the team is important. Of course, it would be great if he hits 20 home runs with a batting average of 300, but I expect that as he has a role as a catcher. The first priority is to keep the home turf of the team full-time."

Lotte met with Seibu on the previous day, and formed a lineup consisting of Hwang Seong-bin (middle fielder), Ko Seung-min (second baseman), Son Ho-young (third baseman), Victor Reyes (left fielder), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Jeon Joon-woo (designated hitter), Park Seung-wook (striker), and Information-geun (catcher). In terms of players, a large number of key players were included in the batting order to the extent that it is safe to make the lineup for the opening game of the 2025 season.

However, the coach disagreed with the assessment that the lineup is the best. Manager Kim Tae-hyung urged Yoo Kang-nam to return to the catcher's position and wished for a rebound of 8 billion weeks ago.