No shoulder pain. Puig is coming back! Shall we save Kiwoom's hope in the last place in the ranking and team batting average?

May 02, 2025

No shoulder pain. Puig is coming back! Shall we save Kiwoom's hope in the last place in the ranking and team batting average?
Dusan-Kium match held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 22nd. Puig hits a two-run shot with two outs and a runner on first base in the bottom of the third inning. Gocheok = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.4.22/



No shoulder pain. Puig is coming back! Shall we save Kiwoom's hope in the last place in the ranking and team batting average?
Dusan-Kium match held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 23rd. Lim Ji-yeol at bat in the bottom of the second inning with one out and a runner on first base. Puig, the first baseman, injured his shoulder while going back to the check ball. The trainer is checking the condition. Gocheok = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.4.23/
"I'll be back on the 4th." I want you to be a strength to the batting lineup."

The fire of hope shines on Kiwoom Heroes, which is struggling with empty strokes. Yasiel Puig returns.

Kiwoom will face KT at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 2nd.




Kiwoom manager Hong Won-ki, who met before the game, said "Puig will return to the first team on the 4th." It has been 10 days since the 24th of last month when he was out due to shoulder pain.

Of course, the return is not everything. Puig's performance this season is only 217, four homers and 14 RBIs, and OPS (on-base plus slugging) is 0.640." His performance (21 home runs, 0.841 OPS) three years ago, which was not enough to meet expectations, is also far short.

Kiwoom is in a total crisis in terms of team power. He is in last place for the second consecutive year and the lowest again this year, his team batting average is in last place (233 percent), and his OPS (0.656 percent) is only in ninth place. Except for Rosenberg and Ha Young-min, even the starters are shaking. Third starter Kim Yoon-ha is somewhat struggling with the wall of his second year, and fourth starter Chung Hyun-woo is out with an injury. Kim Sun-ki, who filled the position, is also not good enough. The team's ERA (5.59) is also in last place.




No shoulder pain. Puig is coming back! Shall we save Kiwoom's hope in the last place in the ranking and team batting average?
LG-Kium match held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 10th. Kiwoom Puig, who lost 3-7, is disappointed. Gocheok = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.4.10/
Coach Hong Won-ki said, `Returning is important, but we need to be supportive of our batting lineup. Even before the injury, the batting balance was not good. He said, "It's probably a difficult situation to be satisfied by himself", but expressed expectations that "Puig will be a great help if he helps the central lineup.'

It is literally the core of this year's Kiwoom season plan. Kiwoom chose to upgrade the team's batting lineup by using only one foreign pitcher this year and placing two foreign hitters, Kadynes-Pugh. However, Puig's sluggishness and injuries overlap, and Cardinez also desperately needs a turning point because he is in an atmosphere of hitting a wall amid intensive checks.

Coach Hong Won-ki said, `Nothing really goes as planned for baseball. Puig's pain is almost gone, and there was no particular abnormality in today's training course. If it is normal, it will return on the 4th."




On this day, Kiwoom will play in the lineup of Lee Yong-kyu (center fielder), Song Sung-moon (third base), Choi Joo-hwan (first base), Cardinez (designated hitter), Won Sung-joon (right wing), Bae Sang-kwon (left wing), Kim Tae-jin (second base), Kim Jae-hyun (catcher), and Eo Jun-seo (striker).



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.