Hanwha Eagles reliever Kim Seo-hyeon warms up during the Hanwha Eagles' spring training camp at Kochinda Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, March 4. Yonhap
The Hanwha Eagles on Monday demoted their slumping reliever Kim Seo-hyeon to the minor leagues.
Kim was removed from the active roster for the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club after pitching to a 9.00 ERA in eight innings across nine outings, while going 1-2 with just one save. Kim has walked a whopping 14 batters and hit two others, but has struck out just five.
A player sent to the minors must spend at least 10 days there.
The lowlight of Kim's fourth season came against the Samsung Lions on April 14, when the right-hander walked six of the 11 batters he faced and plunked another, while recording just three outs. In that game, the Eagles set a record for the most walks and hit-by-pitches issued by a team in a game with 18.
The Eagles removed him from the closer role after that game, with manager Kim Kyung-moon using the 21-year-old in early, low-leverage innings in hopes of rebuilding his confidence.
Kim Seo-hyeon responded by pitching three consecutive scoreless outings. But against the NC Dinos on Sunday, he gave up a free pass before serving up a go-ahead, two-run homer to pinch hitter An Joong-yeol in the top of the seventh inning, as the Eagles fell 5-3 at home in the central city of Daejeon.
The Eagles have the worst bullpen ERA in the KBO this season with 6.57, and they have also allowed the highest opponent on-base plus slugging with .847.
Kim ranked second in the KBO last year with a career-high 33 saves and also topped the All-Star Game fan voting. But he suffered some spectacular meltdowns late in the regular season and again during the postseason, as the Eagles lost to the LG Twins in the Korean Series.
Kim's problems stretched into this season, and manager Kim also faced criticism for sticking with the pitcher in critical spots earlier this season despite some ugly outings.
Source: Korea Times News
