Will the compensation duo make their mark this year?
LG Twins Kim Yoo-young and Yoon Hosol came to LG last year as compensation for free agents Yoo Kang-nam and Chae Eun-sung. After sending out their main players, LG had a hard time deciding on a compensation player, but they decided to reinforce their pitching staff to win the championship and selected Kim Yoo-young and Yoon Ho-sol, who were instant powerhouses.
Expectations were high, as both had played in the must-win group. Kim had a 6-2 record with 13 saves and a 5.65 ERA in 68 games in 2022, while Yoon had a 3-5 record with seven saves and a 4.04 ERA in 52 games.
Not surprisingly, LG coach Yeom Kyung-yup took them both to Arizona’s first-team camp. Kim Yoo-young was even considered as a starter because of her versatility.
However, neither Kim Yoo-young nor Yoon Hosol were on the first team in 2023, when LG won its first championship in 29 years. Instead, Yoo gave younger prospects like Yoo Young-chan and Baek Seung-hyun a chance early on, and they quickly established themselves in the first team and finished the season stronger than expected, leaving Kim and Yoon without a chance.
After pitching in the Futures League and seeing opportunities, Kim underwent surgery in June to remove bone chips from his elbow, effectively ending his 2023 season and preparing him for the 2024 season.
Yoon went 4-2 with two saves and three holds in 24 appearances in the Futures League, with a 3.26 ERA, before being promoted to the first team in September during the expansion draft. In those four games, he didn’t record a win or a loss, but his 2.45 GAA wasn’t bad. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it to the Korean Series due to their lack of success in the first team.
The 2024 season will give them another chance. There was an opening in the bullpen that they couldn’t fit into last year. Lee Jung-yong joined the 토토사이트 commercial sector, closer Go Woo-seok left for the major leagues, and Ham Deok-ju had elbow surgery that will keep him out for the first half of the season.
Yoon brought a number of pitchers to the Arizona camp to strengthen the bullpen, including Kim Yoo-young and Yoon Hosol. They will face stiff competition from Lee Sang-young, Kim Dae-hyun, and Jin Woo-young.
In the history of free agency, there aren’t many examples of compensation players succeeding. Few of them have developed from young prospects, and even when they have, they have rarely performed as expected.
Second season as a compensation player. Can the “compensation duo” do better than they did in their previous organizations? If they do, it’s no wonder they’ve helped LG win back-to-back titles.