Shoulders kept hurting vs Injury is not the reason for replacement. Post-Pugh eviction storm, what the hell is going on

May 21, 2025

Shoulders kept hurting vs Injury is not the reason for replacement. Post-Pugh eviction storm, what the hell is going on
KBO League Kiwoom and KIA match at Gocheok Dome on May 5. Kiwoom Puig is warming up. Gocheok =Reporter Song Jeong-heon@sportschosun.com/2025.05.05/



Puig's exit process, why did the player and the coach have mixed words.

Kiwoom Heroes' replacement of foreign players, which had a lot of talk and a lot of masks, was completed. Puig is leaving. Then comes pitcher Alcantara. After entering the country on the 25th, Alcantara will make his Kiwoom debut after issuing a visa, checking his condition and sense of play.

Kiwoom virtually admitted to the failure of the season of two bold foreign hitters. It was confirmed that Alcantara would be brought in, but the task of deciding whether to send Puig or Cadines was difficult. It's because both of them were sluggish.




Kiwoom's choice was Puig. What came out then was a shoulder injury. Puig injured his left shoulder while returning to the first pitch by sliding in late April. It was not a major injury at the time, but he had time to recover by being on the injured list.

However, Kiwoom announced that shoulder injury was also the reason for Puig's choice in the process of judging various factors. Puig himself posted a picture of himself going to the hospital for shoulder treatment on his SNS on the 19th, confessing that he was unable to play properly due to a sore shoulder. So people had no choice but to think 'The shoulder wasn't cured, that's why Puig, not Cardinez, left.

However, director Hong Won-ki said something different. Ahead of the match against the Samsung Lions on the 20th, Hong asked "Is it because he was sick that he sent Puig?" and "That's not the main reason."




Shoulders kept hurting vs Injury is not the reason for replacement. Post-Pugh eviction storm, what the hell is going on
Dusan-Kium match held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 22nd. Coach Hong Won-ki is watching the game. Gocheok = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.4.22/
When asked again if Puig posted that he couldn't play properly because he was sick, coach Hong said, `That's my opinion. I had a 10-day break after the injury. I also got treatment. He said there was no problem when he was batting. In the training part, he gave the opinion that there was nothing to deteriorate. Changed Puig because of the injury, I don't think so" he emphasized once again. From Hong's point of view, his shoulders may not have been 100% clean, but he had no big problems playing as a professional baseball player. In other words, it implied that the decisive reason for the exit was on the other side, not the injury.

Coach Hong delivered objective facts to the media that contradict the player's claim that `injury is to blame.' Why did I do that.

There were also positive aspects, such as taking off the image of 'bad boy' and practicing for the slump, and working hard on fan service.




However, it was difficult to find a foreign hitter who made a comeback by filling the $1 million guaranteed amount.

Poor performance, such as a batting average of 0.212 in 40 games and an OPS of 0.625 in 40 games, was also a problem, but it is also true that disappointing aspects were often exposed in terms of team chemistry. From the manager's point of view, the most angry thing is the ridiculous defensive mistakes and insincere plays, rather than striking out at chances.

Shoulders kept hurting vs Injury is not the reason for replacement. Post-Pugh eviction storm, what the hell is going on
Lotte-Kium match held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 29th. Coach Hong Won-ki is welcomed after Cardinez hit a solo shot after two outs in the bottom of the first inning. Gocheok = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.4.29/
Before the start of the season, head coach Hong Won-ki was forced to worry about foreign players.

The starting fight is very important in baseball's long-term race of pitching play. Kiwoom was able to play the role of 'scary last place' last year because of the best one-two punch in the Hurado (Samsung) and Heysus (KT) leagues.

I don't know what manager Hong actually feels, but I wonder if he would have refused if he had the opportunity to renew his contract with these two pitchers.

Kiwoom's choice was a shock beyond the breakthrough. He gave up these two pitchers, released the right to hold, and only gave others good things. And the conclusion was two foreign hitters. If two Ohtani (LA Dodgers) came, it would be difficult to surpass the value of Heysus' duo, even if any strong combination was made, because hitting is an area where there are bound to be ups and downs. On top of that, the question remains whether Hong would have welcomed the combination of Puig and Cadines, which have a low probability of success, with open arms.

Of course, Hong also finally agreed, so the contract for two foreign hitters would have been confirmed.

On choosing two foreign hitters, Hong said, `I think it was a bold challenge to make up for our weaknesses regardless of success and failure," he replied in short and bold.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.