The Doosan Bears have traded right-handed outfielder Kang Jin-sung (30-SSG Landers), who hit a season-high .325, for right-handed pitcher Young-gun, who has completed his military service obligation.
“We have executed a one-for-one trade with SSG Landers to acquire right-handed pitcher Kim Jung-woo in exchange for outfielder Kang Jin-sung,” Doosan announced on the afternoon of the 25th.
According to Doosan, SSG first expressed their desire to acquire Kang Jin-sung through a trade on the 21st, and after internal discussions, they finalized an agreement to bring in pitcher Kim Jung-woo in return this morning.
Seeing the high point of the secondary hitters, SSG and Doosan chose to strengthen the bullpen
The trade can be summarized as a swap of pitchers Kang Jin-sung and Young Gun. Kang began his professional career with the NC Dinos in 2012 and has been out of the spotlight for a long time. He was more famous as the son of umpire Kang Kwang-ho.
However, Kang underwent a batting form revision ahead of the 2020 season and hit a career-high .309 with 12 home runs and 70 RBIs that year. He continued to impress baseball fans by maintaining a 4% batting average through the first half of the season.
However, he went into a downward spiral and headed to Doosan as a free agent ahead of the 2022 season to compensate for Park Geon-woo’s departure from the NC uniform. There hasn’t been much of a turnaround since. He hit just .163 in 40 games last year, and this season, he started only three games in the first team and spent most of his time with the Futures (second team) before being sent to SSG via trade.
Doosan looked to the future. Doosan said, “This is a trade that looks to the future of the club as a closer in the SSG Futures League.” “His fastball, which reaches a maximum speed of 148 kilometers per hour, is an attractive card. His fastball movement is more important than his velocity, and his basic pitches, including a slider, curveball, and changeup, are his strengths,” Doosan said in a statement explaining the trade.
Doosan traded for pitcher Kim Jung-woo in exchange for Kang Jin-sung (right). /Photo: SSG Landers
Who is Kim Jung-woo? Could he be the next Hong Gun-hee?먹튀검증
Fast forward to 2020. Doosan traded Ryu Ji-hyeok, a valuable backup, to the KIA Tigers for right-hander Hong Gun-hee (31), a bullpen arm. Hong immediately fit right in with the team and became one of Doosan’s best relievers, posting a 1-0 record with 10 saves and a 1.83 ERA in 19 games this season.
Kim Jung-woo is another potential option. After graduating from Dongsan Middle and Dongsan High School, Kim joined the SK Wyverns (formerly SSG) in the first round of the 2018 rookie draft. Kim is a 6-foot-2, 183-pound pitcher who utilizes a fastball, slider, changeup, and curveball.
He only appeared in one game in 2019 before joining the military, but this season he went 2-1 with four saves and a 1.84 ERA in 14 appearances in the Futures League.
“He has a good performance in the Futures League, is young and has solved his military problems,” Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said of Kim. “I made the decision because even one more pitcher can help the team,” he added.
“It’s more about the future than the immediate future. However, he has a slight toe injury and is resting. We’ll see for ourselves when he feels better,” he added.
Kim will visit Jamsil Stadium to greet the team before the game against SSG on the 26th. Afterward, he will join the second team and work on his overall deficiencies, including his pitching.
Kang Jin-sung, on the other hand, joined the first team on the same day. The team will prepare for a three-game weekend series against Doosan in Jamsil, Chinjeong, on the 26th.