Bae Ji-hwan, the No. 1 hitter with a batting average, Bae Ji-hwan, the No. 3 OPS, and veteran outfielder strongly support it, but is there really no place on the roster?
Mar 14, 2025
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First of all, Bae Ji-hwan played as a substitute in an away exhibition game against the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida on the 14th (Korea time) and was silent with no hits in one at-bats.
Bae Ji-hwan played center field in the bottom of the seventh inning when he was trailing 0-14. Bae Ji-hwan went out as a leadoff hitter in the top of the eighth inning and retired with a fly ball to left field. On one strike, right-hander Darren McCakken pushed a high cutter in the middle of 88.9 miles of the second pitch, but he floated high into the left field and was caught by left fielder Gabriel Gonzalez. The angle of launch was 58 degrees, the batting speed was 86 miles, and the distance was 230 feet.
Since then, the at-bat has not returned, and Pittsburgh has knelt 3-15.
With this, Bae Ji-hwan marked a batting average of 0.435 (10 hits in 23 at-bats) in 11 spring training games, one home run, three RBIs, six runs, two steals, and an OPS of 1.154. He ranks first in batting average and hits among 34 players with three or more at-bats in the Pittsburgh team, and third in OPS.
If this is enough, there is no reason why Bae Ji-hwan cannot make the 26-year-old Major League roster.
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The media said, "'Bad Ji-hwan, a left-handed outfielder and second baseman, seemed to walk a steep uphill path to enter the big league. However, he remained in Major League Baseball camp with a clear opportunity to travel north with the Pirates squad. 'He is being imprinted as a new player in the Pirates camp. Having 10 hits in 22 at-bats until yesterday, he is showing his best moves in the outfield defense as well. Pittsburgh has a lot of second baseman candidates, so if he goes to the Major League, he will play center field.
Bae Ji-hwan is a utility player who can see both inside and outside. However, he is only active as an outfielder in this exhibition game. Nick Gonzalez, Adam Frazier, Jared Triolo, and Nick York are on second base, his infield position.
Of the six games he started, Bae Ji-hwan played in five games as center fielder and one as left fielder, and he was only used in center field and left field in five games as a substitute.
The media reported that veteran outfielder Tommy Pham fell in love with Badge-hwan. New to Pittsburgh, he is trying to maximize the talent of young outfielders, and among them, the most attached player is Bae Ji-hwan', and as a result, Bae Ji-hwan's play looks different. Bae Ji-hwan, who recorded a 29.6% strikeout rate at bat in 2024, evaluated that he is not deceived by the manned ball in this exhibition game.
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Swinsky, who is one year older than Bae Ji-hwan and made his big league debut side by side in 2022, has a much richer major league career. He has a batting average of 0.320 (8 for 25), one home run, six RBIs, three runs scored, and an OPS of 0.953 in nine games.
However, MLB.com excluded Bae Ji-hwan in anticipation of Pittsburgh's 26-man opening roster on the 13th. Pam, O'Neill Cruz and Brian Reynolds were among the three outfielders, and Fraser, Triolo and Swinsky were among the utility players.
In the end, Bae Ji-hwan, who is 26 years old this year, has to break through more intense competition than any other year.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
