On July 29, LG and Kiwoom agreed to a major trade. One month later.
Since leaving LG and donning a Kiwoom uniform, promising outfielder Lee Joo-hyung (22) has been an instant powerhouse. Lee, who has been playing in the outfield since the trade, has outperformed LG’s starting outfielders.
On July 29, Kiwoom sent starter Choi Won-tae to LG in exchange for outfielder Lee Joo-hyung, rookie pitcher Kim Dong-gyu, and a first-round pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.
LG, which is attempting to win its first Korean Series title in 29 years, cited its homegrown starting rotation as a weakness and demanded Choi Won-tae, who is guaranteed to win 10 games. Kiwoom, which had revised its goals from challenging for the top spot due to injuries to its mainstays, including Yokishi’s retirement and Lee Jung-hoo’s injury, collected future prospects. It was a win-win situation.
Lee Joo-hyung started from the first day he joined Kiwoom. After packing his bags and greeting the team, Lee didn’t find out his name was in the starting lineup until two hours before kickoff, but he got a hit in his first game.
He got his first hit in game two and his first multi-hit game in game four. In the fifth game, he hit his first career home run against his hometown team, LG.
In 26 games since the move, Lee is batting .333 (34-for-103) with four home runs, 20 RBI, 18 runs scored, a .515 on-base percentage and an .890 OPS. He has five games without a hit and 10 games with multiple hits.
Among LG’s starting hitters since Lee was traded, only Austin, a foreigner, has performed better than Lee. In 22 games, Austin is batting 3-for-6 with seven doubles, five home runs, 15 RBIs, 15 runs scored, and a 1.054 OPS.
Lee Joo-hyung has the edge over the entire LG outfield. Hong “Run Machine” Chang-ki is 3-for-6 with one home run, seven RBIs, 21 runs scored, and an .857 OPS in 22 games. Kim Hyun-soo is 3-for-6 with three home runs, 11 RBIs, 11 runs scored, and an OPS of .859. Park Hae-min is 3-for-4 with a .717 OPS and Moon Sung-joo is 2-for-7 with a .712 OPS.
Lee Ju-hyung, a second baseman-turned-outfielder, has struggled to get first-team playing time for LG this season, unable to beat out Kim Hyun-soo, Hong Chang-ki, Park Hae-min, and Moon Sung-joo in the outfield.
LG coach Yoon Kyung-yeop had envisioned Lee as a full-time player for the 2024 season after he was discharged from the military in April. Before the trade, Lee played 18 games for LG, going 15-for-4 with a .267 batting average. He mostly appeared as a pinch-hitter.
At the time of the trade, manager Ko Hyung-wook explained the background, saying, “We decided to make this trade after looking for a little more calm in the middle of the season and seriously thinking about strengthening the weak parts of the club’s current power and strengthening the future power.”
Lee Joo-hyung was traded to bolster the outfield, where Lee Jung-hoo is out with an injury, and to strengthen the future power with rookie Kim Dong-gyu and a first-round pick. Lee was highly touted for his potential and immediately exceeded expectations. Over the course of a month, his performance has more than made up for Lee’s absence. The environment in Kiwoom, with plenty of playing time, is a perfect fit for Lee.
Lee first faced the Lotte Barnes on April 8, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. In his second meeting with Barnes on April 18, he showed remarkable adaptability, going 1-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. Barnes is a pitcher that Lee Jung-hoo also struggles with, and Lee is 4-for-20 with a double in his career against Barnes.
Meanwhile, Choi Won-tae has appeared in five games (27 innings) in an LG uniform, posting a 2-2 record with a 7.00 ERA. LG will need its homegrown starters to step up as the team’s all-time wins leader, Plutko, is out four to five weeks with a pelvic bone contusion on May 29.
At the time of the trade, manager Ko Hyung-wook explained the background, saying, “We decided to make this trade after looking for a little more calm in the middle of the season and seriously thinking about strengthening the weak parts of the club’s current power and strengthening the future power.”
Lee Joo-hyung was traded to bolster the outfield, where Lee Jung-hoo is out with an injury, and to strengthen the future power with rookie Kim Dong-gyu and a first-round pick. Lee was highly touted for his potential and immediately exceeded expectations. Over the course of a month, his performance has more than made up for Lee’s absence. The environment in Kiwoom, with plenty of playing time, is a perfect fit for Lee.토토사이트
Lee first faced the Lotte Barnes on April 8, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. In his second meeting with Barnes on April 18, he showed remarkable adaptability, going 1-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. Barnes is a pitcher that Lee Jung-hoo also struggles with, and Lee is 4-for-20 with a double in his career against Barnes.
Meanwhile, Choi Won-tae has appeared in five games (27 innings) in an LG uniform, posting a 2-2 record with a 7.00 ERA. LG will need its homegrown starters to step up as the team’s all-time wins leader, Plutko, is out four to five weeks with a pelvic bone contusion on May 29.