The exhibition game is just a reference. Bad Ji-hwan, who hit hard in the exhibition game, is not looking for anyone
Mar 13, 2025
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Bae Ji-hwan (26) of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who is wielding a hard hit in the 400s in the Major League exhibition game, is expected to miss the opening roster of the Major League. No one there is paying attention to his performance. He is not even mentioned as a bench candidate. He is treating himself like a completely absent person. What is the reason.
Bae Ji-hwan, who is in his fourth year of big league challenge, showed considerable improvement in terms of hitting in this year's exhibition game. He played in 10 exhibition games and posted a batting average of 455 (10 hits in 22 at-bats). He hit an OPS of 1.205 (0.727 on-base percentage 0.478) with three RBIs, six runs and two steals along with one home run.
Based on the figures, there seems to be no shortage even if he is assigned to the starting lineup of the Major League immediately. If you have performed this well in an exhibition game with the nature of a showcase to confirm the opening entry of the Major League, you can expect to enter the opening entry.
However, few mentioned Bae's name not only in the local media but also in MLB.COM, the official Major League website, throughout the period when Bae Ji-hwan was taking a hard hit in the exhibition game. Rather, it was only mentioned in a negative sense.
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However, reporter Hiles said, `Although Bae Ji-hwan has excellent athletic ability, I doubt he will be able to play at the Major League level. There is still a lot to show at-bat or defense,' he said, giving a very negative outlook.
The evaluation of baseball reporters in the Pittsburgh area is quite objective and cold. In fact, this outlook was also reflected in MLB.COM's expected opening entry.
MLB.COM released an expected opening entry of 26 players on the 12th, saying, `It is close to the opening day, and Pittsburgh is also embodying the opening roster.' As feared, the name of the medium ring was not included. The second baseman is Nick Gonzalez,
Isaiah Kiner-Falefa is expected to take charge.
Brian Reynolds (right fielder), O'Neill Cruz (midfielder), and Tommy Pham (left fielder) were mentioned as the main outfielders. Even Adam Frazier, Jared Triolo and Jack Sussinski were chosen as bench members. Bae Ji-hwan can defend both inside and outside, but he was not even mentioned on the utility backup list.
It's a cold reality. Although the batting average in the exhibition game is high, this is not recognized as the average stat of Bae Ji-hwan. In addition, it is evaluated that it is not enough to overwhelm other competitors' abilities in defense.
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In the end, Bae Ji-hwan is trailing in the relative evaluation, so it can be seen that he is being pushed out of the 26-man opening roster. He can play various positions, but his batting and defense skills are evaluated as lacking compared to his backup competitors. However, it does not mean that he has a single stroke. Almost the only strength that is unrivaled is the ability to run, but you can't leave a seat of 26 people just to use it as a pinch-runner agent.
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There is no room for Bae Ji-hwan, who is somewhat in limbo compared to other competitors in both batting and defense. In the end, Bae Ji-hwan seems to have to wait for the big league call-up while maintaining his batting sense in the minor leagues.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
