Will a solver appear in the somewhat stagnant Lotte batting line? Outfielder Kook Hae-seong (34), whom Lotte recently recruited to reinforce the batting line, has been invited to the first team stage.
The Lotte Giants registered Kuk Hae-seong for the first team entry prior to the match against NC Dinos in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 24th. Instead, Lotte canceled outfielder Shin Yun-hoo from the first-team entry.
Kook Hae-seong joined Doosan in 2008, played only in Doosan for 14 years, and applied for a Futures League free agent after the 2021 season, but as well as transferring to other teams, as well as renewing the contract with Doosan, he fell into a ‘missing FA’ situation. Kook Hae-seong, who continued his career as a player in the independent league Seongnam Magpais, went on a joining test prepared by Lotte at Sajik Stadium on the 20th, and received a contract offer that day and wore a Lotte uniform.
Lotte officially announced the contract with Kook Hae-seong on the 22nd, and Kuk Hae-seong played in the Futures League match against Sangmu held at Sangdong Stadium on the 23rd and learned how to play. And on the 24th, Lotte called Kuk Hae-seong into the first team entry. It took only 5 days from the joining test to the call-up to the 1st team. Lotte is pinning high expectations on Kook Hae-seong’s bat.
Kuk Hae-seong played 214 games in the first team, recording a batting average of .238, 11 homers, and 66 RBIs, but he has always attracted attention as a power hitter with one shot. Also, during the Doosan days, there was a reality that it was difficult to occupy a starting position because the player base was so thick.
For Kook Hae-seong, Lotte is highly likely to become a ‘land of opportunity’. Of course, Lotte also has plenty of outfield resources to play as starting pitchers, such as Jeon Jun-woo, Jack Rex, Ahn Kwon-soo, Kim Min-seok, Yoon Dong-hee, and Hwang Seong-bin, but among them, there are players suffering from large and small injuries, and there are no hitters whose type overlaps with Kuk Hae-seong. It seems to offer ample opportunities.
Prior to the match against NC on the 24th,안전놀이터 Lotte coach Larry Sutton said, “There are players with injuries in the outfield. He doesn’t have enough depth. In the outfield, he’s only about Dong-hee Yoon. I look forward to seeing him fight from the plate to the end.”
Kuk Hae-seong, who said, “I felt the excitement from the time I was called up to the first team,” said, “I came to the baseball field and started training with a new mindset. I don’t think I have anything to lose. I will do my best to show a good image.”