“Samsung manager Park Jin-man suggested the trade to our manager first.”
The Ryu Ji-hyuk-Gim Tae-gun trade between KIA and Samsung on May 5 was a case where the discussion between manager Kim Jong-guk and manager Park Jin-man materialized and led to the agreement of the general manager and the working staff. The Ryu-Ji-hyuk-Kim trade was slightly different in that the general manager of the KBO is often the one who initiates the trade, with the managerial staff involved.
Kia president Shim Jae-hak said as much in a phone call on May 5. If this is true, Samsung has made the first move in both of its big trades this year. The Kim Tae-hoon-Yi Won-seok trade with Kiwoom on April 27 for a second-round pick in the 2024 rookie draft was also made after Samsung reached out to Kiwoom first.
It doesn’t really matter who makes the first move. The most important thing is that the deal itself is completed and succeeds in meeting each other’s needs. However, the fact that Samsung moved first to acquire Kim Tae-hoon and Ryu Ji-hyuk shows that they are still determined to win.
Samsung is in danger of finishing last for the first time in its history this season. The first half isn’t even over yet, and there’s a lot on the line in the second half, but let’s face it, there’s no team in the middle of the pack. They’re already six games behind ninth-place KIA, and the recent form of sixth- through eighth-place Kiwoom, KT, and Hanwha is better than most of the top teams.
The bats aren’t clicking, the bullpen has collapsed, and the defense is shaky. They hastily released Lee Won-seok and brought in Kim Tae-hoon, but so far it hasn’t worked. Kim is 2-3 with a 7.80 ERA in 33 games this year, and 1-3 with a 7.46 ERA in 25 games since joining Samsung. Lee Won-seok, on the other hand, went through an adjustment period in May and has struggled since June in Kiwoom.
That didn’t stop them from trying to make another trade, and it looks like Ryu Ji-hyuk will fill the void. Ryu is a contact hitter who can play every position in the infield and can strike out three times. However, in some ways, it’s a bit of a late move to capitalize on his catcher’s territory. There is also an outside assessment that if the deal was made in the off-season or early in the season, Samsung would have gotten more than just Ryu Ji-hyuk in return. At this point, it’s fair to say that Samsung was in a hurry, and they got Ryu Ji-hyuk because he’s a starter-level catcher.토토사이트
For Samsung, Ryu Ji-hyuk must succeed first. It’s certainly possible. In 67 games this season, Ryu is batting .269 with 18 RBI, 29 runs scored, and a .663 OPS. After hitting in the triple digits all season, he struggled in June with a .203 average in 22 games. However, he showed signs of rebounding with a .273 average in three games in July. His body seems to be lifting a bit at the hitting point, but he is a very precise hitter. He recently played second base for KIA to fill the void left by Kim Sun-bin, but he’s more comfortable at third base. He can also play first base.
To put it bluntly, even if Ryu succeeds, there’s no guarantee that Samsung will escape the bottom of the standings, but there’s also no guarantee that they can stay there either. That’s how bad this season has been for Samsung, and that’s how desperate they are.