Since manager Kim Tae-hyung took office, Lotte has made as many as three trades with the LG Twins.
At the end of November last year, the team exchanged rookie fifth-round pick Jin Hae-soo (38) and brought in rookie infielder Kim Min-soo (26) as sign-and-trade at the end of January this year. On Thursday, the team agreed to sign a trade to acquire infielder Son Ho-young (30), while giving up sidearm Woo Kang-hoon (22) as a defensive player. The deal effectively became a three-to-three trade.
Has he suddenly become close to LG since Kim Tae-hyung took office? It is right to say that the interests between the two teams were consistent.
LG, the winner of last year's Korean Series, is the team with the thickest player base in the league. On the other hand, if a key player is injured, Lotte will suffer a direct hit to its team's performance, which is why the team always has a negative impact on its performance in the first division. This is also the reason why the so-called "spring day" phenomenon occurs, in which players show good performance in exhibition games or spring before slumping in summer.
All three trades are "win-now" moves to achieve results this year. Lotte gave up potential new players and immediately recruited players to play in the main league. On the other hand, LG has given a new impetus to its players, who were already excluded from the roster of the main league to some extent.
In particular, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop expressed his warm welcome to Woo Kang-hoon by including Kim Min-soo in the first-team spring camp immediately after the trade and emphasizing that "the pitcher is a multi-track line," recalling the possibility of Jung Woo-young's entry into the Major League and Park Myung-geun's enlistment.
At the inauguration ceremony, manager Kim Tae-hyung suggested his goal of winning the fall baseball league in the first year, and the championship in three years. This is a move that Lotte could have expected with his inauguration.
In the past, KT Wiz was Lotte's strong point of view. At the time, Lotte was in the opposite position. KT, which aims to win the championship right away, gave up promising players and started blood transfusion. On the other hand, Lotte focused on potential rather than current performance.
KT has made good use of its "産" players. When KT won the title in 2021, eight players from Lotte were included among the 30 players that KT made in the Korean Series.
Starting with a 4-to-5 trade based on Park Se-woong and Jang Sung-woo in 2015, Jang Si-hwan, Kim Gun-guk and Oh Tae-gon Bae Je-sung in 2017, Choi Lee-joon (then Choi Gun) + Shin In's third-round pick and Shin Bon-ki Park Si-young in 2020, and Lee Kang-joon-Oh Yoon-seok and Kim Jun-tae in 2021 were traded one after another.
Except for the transfer of Hwang Jae-gyun, who wore KT's uniform as a FA in 2018, it was generally evaluated that it was "deserved" at the time of the trade. Park Se-woong and Jang Sung-woo remained the representative win-win trade of the KBO League, and Park Se-woong established himself as Lotte's franchise star and native ace. Jang Si-hwan was also once a must-win team for Lotte, and the possibilities of Choi Yi-jun and Lee Kang-jun were highly valued enough to upset KT coach Lee Kang-chul. 안전놀이터
However, the result was different. KT has faithfully filled the gap in its power through a series of trades, and as a result, it won its first championship in 2021. On the other hand, Choi remains to be seen, but Lee Kang-joon has already been transferred to Kiwoom as Han Hyun-hee's FA compensation player. At least as a result of the trade with KT, except for Park Se-woong, Lotte fans were generally frustrated.
What will happen to Lotte's trade with LG? Two veterans in their late 30s and a 30-year-old infielder with a total OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.655 while playing 160 at-bats in the first division for five years. However, both Jin and Kim are in the second division as of Tuesday.
LG, which had more leeway after winning the championship, transfused a large number of young blood worth watching for a long time, although the possibility is uncertain.
Lotte's profits and losses will be determined by whether it will play in the fall baseball this year, and the contract period under manager Kim Tae-hyung. Lotte's last advance to the Korean Series was in 1999. In the 21st century, Lotte has never advanced to the Korean Series, let alone won. What kind of evaluation will be made on Lotte's and LG's report cards.