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LG Twins Seo Geon-chang was removed from the pending player list and is now looking for a new team. LG announced on the 25th that it had excluded 12 players, including Seo Geon-chang and Song Eun-beom, from the pending player submission deadline on the 25th.
Among the players who left LG, the person who stood out the most was Seo Geon-chang (34). Seo Geon-chang, who won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2012 and was named MVP in 2014 with the only 201 hits in the KBO League, was in charge of second base for the Nexen Heroes as an accurate substitute hitter.
After the first half of 2021, LG conducted a 1-to-1 trade in which they gave up starting pitcher Chan-heon Jeong and received Geon-chang Seo. They recruited a ‘winning contractor’ who would solve LG’s hole at second base and lead them to victory. However, Seo Geon-chang did not perform as well as expected at LG.
Seo Geon-chang, who had the lowest batting average since his debut with a batting average of .205 and 3.3, qualified as a free agent after the season. Seo Geon-chang, who chose to return as a free agent after careful consideration, unfortunately had a worse batting performance last year. His batting average dropped further to .202 and 4 . Due to his poor performance and injuries, he spent more time in the second team. His second free agency opportunity was also ultimately missed. Select FA Samsu.
This year seemed like a golden opportunity for him. Coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop, who was with him during his time at Nexen, came to LG. Coach Yeom gave Seo Geon-chang a chance for revival by giving him the starting second baseman position. Seo Geon-chang, who worked hard during the winter, rose to first place with a batting average of .362 in the exhibition game, raising expectations.
However, in the regular league, Seo Geon-chang was different from the exhibition game. In the month of April, his batting average was just .202.2 (18 hits in 81 at-bats). As he made ridiculous mistakes, his anxiety in defense grew. In the end, Director Yeom also made a decision. On May 19th, he was moved down to the 2nd group. And Shin Min-jae, who was a pinch runner, suddenly became the starting second baseman with his alto-like batting and increasingly stable defense.
Seo Geon-chang returned during the expanded entry in September, but his place was not there. LG, which was already in first place, did not need Seo Geon-chang. Seo Geon-chang's name was not even in the Korean Series entry. 44 games, a batting average of .200 (22 hits in 110 at-bats), and 12 RBI were Seo Geon-chang's report card for the 2023 season. For three years since coming to LG, Seo Geon-chang has maintained a batting average of .229 li (129 hits in 564 at-bats) with 4 home runs and 54 RBIs.
The free agency season has come again, but Seo Geon-chang did not apply for free agency this time either. He instead asked LG to release him.
LG general manager Cha Myeong-seok said, “Agent Seo Geon-chang requested to be released,” and added, “We have decided to release Seo Geon-chang and other veterans who have difficulty getting opportunities on our team as a way to give them a chance. The same goes for Song Eun-beom, and Lee Chun-woong also has a problem with illegal gambling. “It was more of an opportunity,” he said.
If a team needs a veteran second baseman, it would be okay to give Seo Geon-chang a chance. Will Seo Geon-chang be able to get his last chance to restore his honor?