The bullpen pitcher's poor performance hampered the Lotte Giants last season. Can Koo Seung-min (35) and Kim Won-joong (32), who are leaders of the pitching group, regain the balance this year.

During the 2024 season, Lotte ranked ninth among the 10 teams with a 5.36 ERA. The team's overall ERA itself was 5.05, ranking seventh, but the bullpen's record was all the more regrettable.

Last year, Lotte's batting average was the second (0.285) and the third (802) in scoring, showing explosive power. However, the pitching staff failed to keep the lead that batters had provided. With 39 come-from-behind losses, Lotte turned the game around the most in the league. The winning rate of the game, which was leading the team through the fifth inning, was also the lowest at 0.726. Even though the team was leading the seventh inning, the team failed to keep the win even in the 11th inning (nine losses, two draws).

It was regrettable that the players who had to do it were shaken in general. In the beginning, Koo Seung-min, a must-winner, collapsed with an ERA of 21.94 until April. Since then, Choi Joon-yong and rookie Jeon Mir, who helped the relief team, have ended the season early due to physical conditions. Even the well-throwed closing pitcher Kim Won-joong was shaken with an ERA of 11.05 during the month of July. Veteran Kim Sang-soo held on well, but frequent consecutive throws hampered him.토토사이트

Choi, who underwent shoulder surgery in August last year, was diagnosed with rehabilitation for four months, and can return to the 2025 season as planned. However, Jeon Mir, who had a knife on his elbow in December, is expected to take six months of rehabilitation, making it difficult for him to make a comeback in the first half of this year. New faces such as Kim Kang-hyun and Park Jin have appeared, but he will have to wait and see in the upcoming season.

In the end, Koo Seung-min and Kim Won-joong should maintain the balance. The two players have been active together in earnest since 2020, and are rewriting the history of Lotte's bullpen. Kim Won-joong pitched in 381 games for 13 years since joining the team in 2012, recording 39 wins, 49 losses and 132 saves with an ERA of 5.08. After becoming a relief pitcher in 2020, his ERA decreased to 3.58, and he had more saves than Oh Seung-hwan (150 saves) during the same period. He became the first player to have more than 100 saves at Lotte alone.

Koo has also strengthened his waist. In 448 games, he recorded 28 wins and 30 losses with five saves and 121 holds with an ERA of 4.47. After being discharged from the military, he started with 14 holds in 2018, and played a must-win role. Koo also became the first player to have 100 holds in Lotte in the 2023 season, achieving 50 games and 20 holds for four consecutive years from 2020.

Last year, Kim Won-joong posted a record of 3-6-25 with 25 saves and a 3.55 ERA in 56 games, while Koo Seung-min posted a record of 5-3 with 13 holds and a 4.84 ERA in 66 games. Neither player achieved the record as expected, but he kept the back door except for a period when the record was significantly shaken.

The two players will continue to play with Lotte this winter. They signed a four-year free agent contract worth 5.4 billion won (4.4 billion won in guaranteed amount and 1 billion won in incentives) with Kim Won-joong and up to 2.1 billion won (down payment of 300 million won, annual salary of 1.2 billion won and incentives of 600 million won) with Koo Seung-min for two plus years.

At the time, Lotte General Manager Park Joon-hyuk said, "(Kim Won-joong) is a player who can communicate with the team and play an important role in the overall growth of the team," and regarding Koo Seung-min, "He is a player who can devote himself to the team more than anyone else, lead the team culture in a positive direction, and expect to show higher performance as he has made a challenging contract."

Kim Won-joong said, "I will go back to my initial start for the club and become a player who contributes to the growth of the team with a sense of responsibility." Koo Seung-min said, "I will be a player who not only achieves my personal goals but also contributes to the team's advance into autumn baseball."