Oh Seung-hwan (left, 43, Samsung Lions), who has 549 saves in professional baseball in Korea, the U.S. and Japan, began to flap his wings of revival, leaving behind the season of hardship. The top-ranked game in 2025 is expected to be decided in the eighth inning as the defending champion KIA Tigers transfused "fireballer" Cho Sang-woo (center, 31), and the LG Twins turned closer Yoo Young-chan (right, 28) into an intermission.메이저사이트

With the retirement of Choo Shin-soo and Kim Kang-min, who are the same age, Oh has become the oldest player in the KBO league, and will pitch again this year. "I still have a lot of passion for my career," a Samsung source told the Seoul Shimbun on Wednesday. "I am committed to recovering my honor without mentioning my retirement tour or renewing my contract."

2024 was a nightmare. Oh, who started the season with a finishing touch, suffered a slump with one win, two losses and two saves with an earned run average of 12.15 in nine games in July, and was informed to join the second team in mid-August. He was excluded from the postseason roster as he failed to find his form. During the off-season, he was agonizing over speculation that he could leave the team as a compensation player for Choi Won-tae, who was hired as a free agent.

If he rebounds, Samsung can also try again to win the title. Oh will receive double his annual salary (800 million won) this year, the last year of his contract. As Samsung did not strengthen its bullpen during the off-season, the best scenario is that Kim Jae-yoon will continue to play in the ninth inning and Oh Seung-hwan will support him.

The core relief pitcher for the champion Kia Tigers is Cho Sang-woo, a recruit. With strong pitching, Cho has cracked down on the back door of the Kiwoom Heroes since 2018. However, he seems unlikely to be able to beat Jung Hae-young, who ranks first in saves (31). Hence, chances are high that he will compete with Jeon Sang-hyun, who pitched the most in the eighth inning (25 1/3 innings) among KIA pitchers last year. There is also room for right-hander Cho Sang-woo, who is strong against right-handed hitters (0.231 hit rate), to share his role with Kwak Do-gyu, who has low hit rate (0.182) among left-handed pitchers.

The key is his physical condition. Cho, who boasts fast balls over 150 kilometers per hour, ended the last season early complaining of shoulder pain, and his average fastball speed dropped to 145 kilometers. "We had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on his right shoulder and heel last month, and there was no problem," Kia said, signaling Cho's performance in the new season.

LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop, who finished the last season as the third-ranked team, predicted early completion of Jang Hyun-sik, who was brought from Kia. The problem is that except for Kim Jin-seong, Yoo Young-chan, who is currently rehabilitating after elbow surgery, does not have a proper team to win. After all, Yoo Young-chan, who is third in saves (26), who is undergoing rehabilitation after elbow surgery last month, needs to return to the team. "He cannot recover in a short period of time due to bleeding in his elbow. We will be able to find out the exact timing of his return in three months, and he may join the team in the second half depending on his physical condition," an LG source said.