(LEAD) Injured infielder to travel with Twins for KBO postseason series

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES throughout with latest info)
By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- The LG Twins announced Thursday their starting second baseman Shin Min-jae's hamstring injury was not as serious as initially feared, saying the speedster will join the club on a road trip to begin their next postseason round.

A Twins official said Shin will travel to the southwestern city of Gwangju on Friday to prepare for the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason series against the Kia Tigers, with the first two games of the best-of-five battle set for Saturday and Sunday.

Shin hurt his left hamstring on a run-scoring squeeze play in the Twins' 4-1 win over the Doosan Bears in Wednesday's wild card game.

The Twins were nursing a 2-1 lead when they had runners at the corners for Shin. He bunted down the third base line as pinch runner Choi Won-young scored easily from third, and Shin beat out the throw by third baseman An Jae-seok.

But after running past the first base bag, Shin came up limping, grabbing the back of his left thigh. The team said Shin experienced some tightness in his hamstring but no immediate testing was scheduled for Wednesday.

When asked about Shin's status after the game, Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb said: "It doesn't look good. He will have some tests tomorrow, but it looks as though he will not be available (in the next series)."

However, a team official said tests done Thursday morning did not show any serious damage to Shin's hamstring.

"He is just feeling a little tightness and he will concentrate on resting and recovering, instead of training," the official added.

Losing Shin, widely regarded as the top defensive second baseman in the KBO who can consistently put the ball in play and steal bases, would have been the latest injury blow to the Twins.

On the pitching side, they are already without closer Son Ju-young, setup man Kim Jin-sung and swingman Song Seung-ki, with former closer You Young-chan having been ruled out for the season in April.

Among position players, veteran shortstop Oh Ji-hwan has been sidelined since Oct. 5 with a knee injury. He was available to pinch hit Wednesday night but was not yet deemed healthy enough to play defense.

By finishing off the Bears in one game in the wild card round, the Twins have earned two days of break before facing the Tigers. Youm said he was hopeful that the additional rest will be enough to get Oh back to full health.

With Oh not able to play on the field, utility man Gu Bon-hyeok has been playing shortstop. Gu is a versatile defender but has performed better at second or third bases than at shortstop. Oh, when healthy, is considered a superior defender at shortstop.

If Oh is able to take the field in the upcoming series but Shin cannot play right away, then it will allow the Twins to move Gu to second base to take over from Shin. Gu, while not on Shin's level with the glove, is still a capable defender, and the two are similar types of slap hitters with speed on the base paths.

However, if both Oh and Shin are out in the next series, the Twins will have to turn to long-time backup infielder Lee Young-bin to handle second-base duties.

On the pitching front, Youm said Kim and Song are likely done for the year with shoulder and knee injuries, respectively. But the manager held out hope that Son, who is dealing with a herniated neck disk, will be available against the Tigers.

"We may just put him back on the roster and see how he progresses," Youm said. "I will discuss this with our trainers and coaches."

Son, a former starting pitcher who took over from You as the closer, finished second in the KBO with 31 saves this year. Youm said prior to Wednesday's win that he would take a closer-by-committee approach in Son's absence.