First All-Star in his faded life → Long-term poor luck...The biggest fish in the FA this winter is shortstop?

Jul 22, 2025

First All-Star in his faded life → Long-term poor luck...The biggest fish in the FA this winter is shortstop?
Lotte Jeon Min-jae hits a game between Hanwha and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 19th. Busan = Reporter Huh Sang-wook's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.06.19/



First All-Star in his faded life → Long-term poor luck...The biggest fish in the FA this winter is shortstop?
A game between the Lotte Giants and the LG Twins at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 1st. Lotte Jeon Min-jae is defending. Busan = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.07.01/
First All-Star in his faded life → Long-term poor luck...The biggest fish in the FA this winter is shortstop?
Lotte Giants and LG Twins at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 1st. Lotte Jeon Min-jae hits in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and runners on second base. Busan = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.07.01/
The slump in offense and defense is unusual. The nickname 'Happiness', which the player was most proud of himself, has long faded.

Lotte Giants Jeon Min-jae is the main character.

In July, he has been in a severe slump with a monthly batting average of 12.1 (four hits in 33 times at bat). It fell further than the previous June (20.1 percent, 17 hits in 81 at-bats).




The batting average, which had been rising and falling to .40 with .423 in April and .388 in May, has already fallen to below .300 (2997). The glory of the first All-Star Game also faded.

Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung is Jeon Min-jae's 'Eunsa'. Even during the Doosan Bears, he occasionally gave them a chance in the first division, and this year, he was acquired by Lotte through a bundle trade with Jung Cheol-won, opening a new way in an ambiguous future.

In Doosan, veteran Kang Seung-ho and midfielder Lee Yoo-chan. Considering that rookie Oh Myung-jin and Im Jong-sung will return to Ahn Jae-seok, who was serving in the military at the time, there was no right opportunity for Jeon Min-jae to return.




First All-Star in his faded life → Long-term poor luck...The biggest fish in the FA this winter is shortstop?
Lotte-KIA match held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 6th. Reyes rushed home in the top of the fifth inning when Jeon Min-jae had a hit with two outs and runners on first and second bases. When the referee declared out, head coach Kim Tae-hyung, who requested a video review, is waiting for the result. Gwangju = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.6/
Lotte, on the other hand, was the land of opportunity. There were not many infielders with as much defense as Jeon Min-jae. In addition, at the beginning of the season, the bat exploded and instantly secured the main shortstop.

This season is the first time I've played full-time as the main player. It is Jeon Min-jae's first experience with physical force and intensive analysis of other clubs. Although he has overcome the shocking dune injury he suffered at the end of April, this is why it is not easy to escape the slump.

The bigger problem is defense. Not only are the 12 mistakes themselves not small, but there are more detailed mistakes that are not recorded as their own mistakes. This is the result of the burden of physical strength and lack of concentration. The lateral movement is not bad yet, but the dash has weakened. His quickness and stability are disappointing. All of them were considered Jeon Min-jae's strengths at the beginning of the season.




The alternative first-round pick is Lee Ho-joon, who is in his second year. Coach Kim Tae-hyung acknowledged that he is the best in the team when it comes to defense.

First All-Star in his faded life → Long-term poor luck...The biggest fish in the FA this winter is shortstop?
The game between the Lotte Giants and the LG Twins at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 3rd. Lotte Jeon Min-jae and Han Tae-yang are preparing for the game. Busan = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.07.03/
On top of that, Ko Seung-min and Son Ho-young are set to return to the first division. Park Chan-hyung and Han Tae-yang are also players who can play shortstop.

Lotte has been a team that has been troubled by shortstop since its foundation. Park Gye-won, Kim Min-jae, and Park Ki-hyuk are the only shortstop who can represent the team for a long time from the original year of its foundation in 1982. In particular, over the past 10 years, Moon Kyu-hyun and Oh Tae-gon (then Oh Seung-taek) and Shin Bon-ki felt limited and recruited Machado for two seasons, while Lee Hak-joo, who was acquired through a trade, and Park Seung-wook, who came in as a release player, competed for the main shortstop.

Jeon Min-jae seemed to solve this regret, but he hit the wall again. First of all, director Kim Tae-hyung said, `Jeon Min-jae has to do it," he stressed.

First All-Star in his faded life → Long-term poor luck...The biggest fish in the FA this winter is shortstop?
Lotte Jeon Min-jae on the ground in the 2025 KBO All-Star Game held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 12th. Daejeon=Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.07.12/
What will happen if Jeon Min-jae's slump drags on.

Initially, KT Wiz's Kang Baek-ho was considered the biggest fish for the FA after this season, but position problems remain and the position has become ambiguous due to sluggishness.

Therefore, KIA Park Chan-ho, Jo Sang-woo, and Doosan Lee Young-ha are considered the biggest fish. Unlike last year's Shim Woo-joon (Hanwha Eagles), whose weaknesses were clear, Lotte is also bound to be attracted by Park Chan-ho.

Although Lotte's salary cap is in a tight swing, there is no reason not to go into the market considering that next year is the last season of Kim Tae-hyung's three-year contract after performing a certain performance this year. In the end, Lotte's move depends on Jeon Min-jae's future performance.

First All-Star in his faded life → Long-term poor luck...The biggest fish in the FA this winter is shortstop?
In the game between Hanwha and KIA at Gwangju KIA Champions Field on the 7th, KIA Park Chan-ho hits a double and cheers at the bottom of the 3rd inning. Gwangju = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.06.07/




This article was translated by Naver AI translator.