The KBO (Korea Baseball Organization) announced the opening entries of 10 KBO League clubs on the 21st, a day before the opening of the regular season in 2025. While each club had its own conclusion at the point where it was agonizing, Doosan drew many people's attention as an entry without two key pitchers.

Kwak Bin (26), the team's ace player, and Hong Geon-hee (33), the must-winner of the bullpen, were both excluded from the entry list. It was due to injury. Kwak's registration for the opening entry failed due to injury in his left side and Hong's right elbow. This is news that he feels exhausted at a time when he needs to do his best. The timing of his return has yet to be decided. This is all the more worrisome because both players account for a large portion of the team's strength.토토사이트

According to the Doosan club, Kwak felt pain in his left side while pitching against the Futures League (second division) Goyang (second division) on March 19. He pitched 69 pitches during five innings, giving one hit, three walks, and six strikeouts, but failed in the final test ahead of the opening in chilly weather. He was diagnosed with damage to his inner abdominal muscles after the examination. It is fortunate that it was not a shoulder or elbow injury, which is the throwing part, but chances are high that he will be away for at least two weeks after the opening.

Kwak Bin pitched 167 ⅔ innings, the most in a single season, in 30 games last year, and played his part as the team's ace, with 15 wins, 9 losses and an earned run average of 4.24. Although his ERA was lower than that of 2023 (2.90), he was evaluated as having a season in which he has grown in his own way, surpassing 150 or more innings as well as 160 innings for the first time as a person, and becoming the joint king of multiple wins. Ahead of this season, his ball power has been good since the camp, raising expectations from the coaching staff.

Doosan can be evaluated as a qualification for this year's postseason because of its assessment that it is certain to have a "three-punch" in its starting rotation. New foreign pitchers Cole Irvin and Jack Rogue are receiving passing points, and a native ace named Kwak Bin will be added to the list. It is not easy for a team that possesses a one-two punch from a foreign team to establish a "three-punch" even for a certain native ace, but Doosan had such preconditions. However, Kwak's departure increased the burden on the starting rotation.

In addition to Choi Seung-yong and Kim Yoo-sung, Choi Won-joon, who had been in the race for the fifth starting pitcher, is likely to return to the starting rotation to fill Kwak's vacancy. However, it is worrisome that no pitcher has the same weight as Kwak. Kwak will stop pitching for now, have a recovery period, and undergo a re-examination in early April. Even if he is judged to be normal, he needs time to raise the number of pitches again, throw balls in the Futures League, and adjust his sense of play in the game. He will return to the mound in early or mid-April, but the situation remains to be seen.

Hong Gun-hee is a worse part than Kwak Bin. According to the Doosan club, Hong felt pain in his right elbow while training to pitch on March 16. He was diagnosed with damage to the medial ligament in his right elbow. Hong Geon-hee is also scheduled to undergo a re-examination in early April, but his concern is likely to grow due to his elbow. It is fortunate if the results are good at the re-examination, but he has no choice but to proceed with the return carefully. If the results are not good at the re-examination, it could lead to long-term absence by mistake. This is why Doosan's eyes are bound to be on the re-examination in April.

Since joining the Doosan Bears in a trade in 2020, Hong has been a key player in the team's bullpen. He recorded 17 holds in 2021, and played as the team's closing pitcher in 2022 and 2023, earning 40 saves over two years. Last year, he gave up the finishing pitcher to his junior Kim Taek-yeon, but pitched 59 ⅓ innings in 65 games this season, supporting his team's bullpen with a good performance of 4 wins, 3 losses, 9 saves, 11 holds, and an earned run average of 2.73. He was planning to open the game as a member of the must-win team again this year. However, his first step was twisted due to injury.

The departure of the two key pitchers will undoubtedly serve as a significant variable to Doosan's early race in the season. Entering the last year (third year) of Doosan's contract period, Doosan is gearing up to start the season with the determination to boost performance that fell short of expectations over the past two years. However, the two key pitchers are agonizing over their injury, which is just around the corner with the opening of the season. For now, Doosan should display performance as much as possible before the two players return. For this reason, analysts say that Doosan's success or failure may depend on the performance of its replacement resources this year.

Doosan will hold the season opener against SSG at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Wednesday. Coincidentally, however, the rival team SSG is also in deep sorrow due to injuries to its key players. Mitch White, who had high expectations as a foreign ace this year, left the Okinawa camp due to a hamstring injury. Having devoted himself to rehabilitation while exercising hard, White will undergo a re-examination on Monday. Fortunately, he is not widely torn, and the player's mood is not bad, so SSG is pinning its hope on the results of the re-examination. Even so, he will not be able to return to the top tier until mid-April. As a starting pitcher, he will have to go through the process of increasing the number of pitches again. SSG, which is considered to have many variables in its starting lineup, has already suffered a big setback.

On top of that, Choi Jeong, the team's flagship batter, also injured his hamstring during training, failing to make it to the opening entry. He was injured during training ahead of an exhibition game against Kia Tigers, which was scheduled to take place in Gwangju on March 17 but was canceled due to cold weather. He underwent two checkups on March 18 and 19, and was diagnosed with damage to his right hamstring. The pain is not significant, but the exact timing of his return can be expected only after a re-examination in late March.