LG and Doosan Announce Wild Card Roster... LG's Son Ju-young Left Out in the End

Professional baseball teams LG Twins and Doosan Bears announced their wild card (WC) entry rosters on October 13.

LG, the fourth-place team in the regular season, and fifth-place Doosan each registered 30 players for the first game of the WC, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. on October 14 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.

LG advances to the semi-playoffs if they win or tie the first game, while Doosan must win both the first and second games.

While the conditions heavily favor LG, Doosan holds the advantage in terms of overall squad strength.

LG will play the WC without closer Son Ju-young.

On the morning of October 11, Son suffered from severe neck stiffness to the point where he could not properly turn his neck, preventing him from pitching in yesterday's regular-season finale against the KIA Tigers.

Son failed to recover his physical condition enough to pitch normally even today, resulting in his omission from the roster.

Ko Woo-seok, a key LG bullpen pitcher who played a major role toward the end of the regular season, was also excluded.

Having returned after finishing his stint in U.S. professional baseball, the right-handed pitcher Ko Woo-seok joined the team late and is therefore ineligible to play in the postseason under Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regulations.

In addition, left-handed pitcher Lee Sang-young, right-handed pitcher Yang Woo-jin, and catcher Kim Min-su were left off, while relief pitcher Lee Jung-yong joined the roster.

LG infielder Oh Ji-hwan, who was diagnosed with a partial tear of his left medial collateral ligament, made the list for now.

Since he is unable to play defense, Oh is expected to be utilized as a pinch hitter.

With Oh Ji-hwan included in the entry, LG will operate with nine infielders and two catchers.

On the other hand, Doosan will use eight infielders and three catchers.

Doosan excluded right-handed pitchers Kim Young-hyun and Kim Han-jung, catcher Ryu Hyun-jun, and outfielder Kim In-tae.

LG's starting pitcher is Carlos Carrasco, while Doosan's starter is Kwak 빈.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.