Lions manager to lean on breakout pitcher as new closer in KBO postseason

DAEGU, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- With his top closer out with an injury for the South Korean baseball postseason series, Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man said Sunday he will lean on a breakout left-hander in save situations.

The Lions were to host the Kia Tigers to begin their best-of-five Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason round Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. But on the eve of the opener, the Lions announced their All-Star closer Kim Jae-yoon, who led the regular season with 35 saves, would be sidelined for up to two weeks due to an upper body injury.

Also off the postseason roster are two left-handed relievers Lee Seung-hyun and Baek Jung-hyun.

Park has his one last remaining lefty weapon in the bullpen in Lee Seung-min, who enjoyed his best regular season this year. The 26-year-old went 6-2 and set career highs with 23 holds, 74 appearances and 68 innings pitched. His 2.65 ERA was also the best mark of his six-year career.

"He is our most reliable guy out of the bullpen," Park said of Lee during his pregame media availability. "We will send him out in crucial spots in late innings. And depending on the game situation and the spot in the opposing lineup, we will deploy every option possible."

Park also had to scramble to put together his starting lineup. Outfielder Koo Ja-wook, the regular-season batting champion, is just coming back from a hamstring injury and will be limited to designated-hitting duties for now. This kept veteran designated hitter (DH) Choi Hyoung-woo, who is a defensive liability in the outfield at age 42, on the bench for Sunday's game.

"It makes a huge difference whether we have Koo Ja-wook in the lineup or not," Park said. "So it came down to whether Choi Hyoung-woo could play in the outfield. Defense is important in a postseason series, and so we elected to keep Ja-wook's bat in the lineup as DH and have someone else play in the outfield instead of Hyoung-woo."

Park admitted Choi may be forced to play in the outfield at some point in the series.

"We may use him as a pinch hitter when we are trailing, and it would be a waste if we only have him for one at-bat," the manager said. "In that case, he may have to take the field. We will see how things play out."