In April 2020, the KBO’s board of governors allowed the trade of rookie draft picks. At that time, the board voted to change the rules, stating that “a team may transfer its draft pick for the following year to another team in exchange for no more than two players.

In December of that year, the first roster trade took place. Lotte and KT were the main players. Lotte sent infielder Shin Bong-ki and pitcher Park Si-young to KT in exchange for the second and third round picks in the 2022 rookie draft and pitcher Choi Gun, who was just a prospect at the time.

Choi was a fastball prospect who was drafted in the second round of the 2018 rookie draft. He didn’t do much in the first team. At the time of the trade, he was fulfilling his military service as a social service worker after undergoing elbow surgery.

He was released at the end of 2021 and prepared to start playing for Lotte in 2022. In the meantime, Shin Bong-ki and Park Si-young, who were the opposite of him, 스포츠토토 became the main players in KT Wiz’s 2021 title run.

At the time of the trade, Lotte was looking to the future.

While the success of the trade can’t be discussed right away, the team couldn’t help but feel heartbroken by the performance of their opposite numbers.Lotte is now slowly receiving the settlement check for its first-ever draft pick trade. With the pick they received from KT, Lotte selected infielder Kim Se-min. Kim is currently on active military duty.

Pitcher Choi Gun, now renamed Choi Yi-joon, has been making his presence felt in the first team this year. He’s been in the second team once, but he’s stuck with the first team. In his first season after returning from military service in 2022, Choi was considered a must-win pitcher with his hard-hitting fastball, but he was unable to overcome a plantar fasciitis injury and its aftermath. Last year, he began to be used again, but ended up going 1-0 with a 6.83 ERA in 28 games (22 earned runs in 29 innings) with 20 strikeouts and 21 walks.

This year, Choi was still a promising pitcher with high expectations. He was named the MVP of spring training, proving his progress. Although his role was more of a backup and was up and down, he was quietly doing his part.

Then, late last month, he began to stand out.

On May 26, Samsung Electronics resigned starter Charlie Barnes, who had to come off the mound with sudden adductor pain. Choi quickly warmed up and took the mound with the bases loaded and the score tied 1-1. He pitched 1⅔ innings of three-hit, one-strikeout, no-hit ball to lead the team to a 9-1 victory. Barnes’ early exit was the perfect way to clean up the mess, and Choi emerged as the savior.

Since then, Choi has stepped up his game. He pitched 1⅔ innings of one-hit ball with one strikeout and no walks against Hanwha on April 28, and ⅓ innings of one-hit ball with one strikeout against NC on April 1. And on the last two days, Choi once again bailed out the starting rotation. Park Se-woong had to come off the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning with the score 2-4. He struck out Kim Hyung-joon with runners on first and second to end the threat.

Just like Samsung Electronics on March 26, Choi’s relief appearance revitalized Lotte’s mood. They scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take the lead, and Choi pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts in the seventh. Choi was once again the winning pitcher as the team won 13-4. Choi’s season record now stands at 15-2 with a 3.78 ERA (7 earned runs in 16⅔ innings), 12 strikeouts and 11 walks.

That’s two wins for Choi already.

Without these wins, Lotte’s performance and mood could have been even worse. After Game 2, manager Kim Tae-hyung said, “Thanks to Choi, we were able to turn the tide,” and credited him for the comeback victory.

At this point, it is likely that he will be used as a closer who can fulfill both long relief and a must-win role. Choi’s struggles have given the bullpen some breathing room, 토토사이트 순위 as the team’s plan for the bullpen has been disrupted by the poor performances of players who were previously thought of as must-wins, such as Koo Seung-min and Choi Jun-yong.

Choi has slowly earned the trust of the bench and has become an integral part of the first-team bullpen. Now in the fourth year of the trade, Lotte is finally in a position to realize the trade’s payoff.