Veterans gathered in the infield. Can KT recapture the throne after 2 seasons?
KT Wiz had to fill the void left by shortstop Shim Woo-jun ahead of this season. Shim Woo-Jun passed the Sangmu Phoenix baseball team and enlisted in the army. Shim Woo-jun participated in 132 games last season and recorded 93 hits in 388 at-bats, 4 homers, 34 RBIs, 23 stolen bases, a batting average of 0.240, and an OPS of 0.618. He posted a 0.970 fielding percentage with 16 errors last season. Along with Shim Woo-jun, Kwon Dong-jin, who can play second baseman and shortstop, also enlisted after passing the rank of managing director.
KT, whose main shortstop enlisted in the army, set out to recruit a new shortstop. First and foremost, we brought in an experienced backup infield resource. Lee Sang-ho, who was released from the LG Twins, was recruited. Lee Sang-ho is mainly active as a second baseman, but is a utility that can also play an active role as a third baseman and shortstop. Lee Sang-ho, who is in his 10th season after his professional debut, is preparing to spread his wings at KT.
Following the recruitment of Lee Sang-ho, KT recruited a suitable player as the starting shortstop. Kim Sang-soo was recruited as a free agent (FA). Kim Sang-soo, who joined the Samsung Lions as the first draft pick in 2009, played an active role at Samsung for 14 seasons until last season. He is a veteran with 1379 hits, 55 home runs, 251 stolen bases and a batting average of 0.271 OPS of 0.703 in 1552 career appearances.
Kim Sang-soo has been active as a shortstop since his debut. He played second base from the 2019 season to the first half of the 2022 season, but played shortstop again in the second half of last season. He is the right person to fill Shim Woo-jun’s vacancy. However, Kim Sang-soo said that he had to keep trying. On the 29th of last month, before leaving for the Arizona spring camp, he said, “I think I need to do a lot of defense training at this camp. Even if I played shortstop in the second half of last year, there was a gap. He showed his defense, so we have to erase his gap as much as possible.”
Having recruited two new infield resources, KT succeeded in capturing utility veteran Shin Bong-gi. Shin Bong-ki, who came out to the FA market, signed a 1+1 year contract with KT for a total of 300 million won after the New Year, and stayed there. Shin Bong-gi is also a backup utility infielder and is a resource that can strengthen KT’s defense. He wasn’t on the roster this spring, but he’s a player you can always put in as a utility resource. 메이저놀이터
Regarding the recruitment of veteran infielders at the time of recruiting Shin Bon-gi, KT general manager Na-hyeon Na said, “These are players who can help the team in many ways, not just on the defense side.” “I look forward to playing as the team’s starting shortstop. Lee Sang-ho and Shin Bong-ki are utility resources that can be put into the required position.”
In addition to the three veteran infielders who signed a new contract with KT, there is Park Kyung-soo, the ‘oldest captain’, and Oh Yoon-seok, who received his first salary of 100 million won after his professional debut. In addition, newcomers Ryu Hyun-in and Son Min-seok, who were named on the first team spring camp roster, are also expected. Can KT, a team of experienced second basemen, shortstops, and prospects, lift the championship trophy again after two years?