‘Injury recovery’ Yang Ji to be substituted against Kiwoom…coach Lee Seung-yup “even if he’s only on the bench, it’s a big help”
Doosan Bears powerhouse Yang Yang-ji has returned to the first team after shaking off an injury.
Doosan added Yang Yang-ji and Kim Tae-geun to its first-team roster ahead of its 12th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on April 22. The move follows the expungement of infielder Park Ji-hoon on Nov. 21 and the removal of Ahn Jae-seok from the roster.
Yang was designated for assignment on Aug. 8 after suffering a partial tear in his side muscle and has been focusing on rehabilitation. Yang led the Doosan batting order with a .323 average (94-for-291), nine home runs, 44 RBIs and a .906 OPS in 87 games this season, but the injury sidelined him for two weeks.
Doosan struggled mightily in the 10 games after Yang went down with the injury, batting just .236 as a team, going 3-7 in that span and falling to 50-51-1 on the season. Chasing the sixth-place KIA Tigers with no wins, the race for a postseason berth became even tougher.
For now, Doosan will have Yang Ji’s return to the lineup to add some batting power. However, the team plans to give him time to get back into the swing of things, as he joined the first-team squad without playing in the Futures League.
“Yang-ji is on the first-team roster, but I don’t think it will be easy for him to start at catcher in the three-game series against Kiwoom this week,” said Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop. “He hasn’t played a game since (the injury), and (the side) is a cautious area to suddenly use strength,” he said.
“For now, he’s just going to be a pinch-hitter. He won’t be playing catcher or defense.” “Just having him on the bench is a big help for the team. I think we will be able to play with a slightly different atmosphere.”메이저사이트
Yang is also moving cautiously for now. “I’ve seen him in batting practice, but he’s not hitting at 100%,” said Lee Seung-yeop, “so we have to be cautious. As much as possible, we’ll try not to strain him in the three-game series this week.”
Meanwhile, Doosan’s starting lineup was Cho Sun-soo (center field), Kim Jae-ho (shortstop), Rojas (left field), Yang Seok-hwan (first base), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Kim In-tae (right field), Kang Seung-ho (second base), Jang Seung-hyun (catcher), and Heo Kyung-min (third base). Ace Raul Alcantara will start on the mound.
