Bae Ji-hwan (24) of the Pittsburgh Pirates has recently been criticized for his poor performance.
American media Pittsburgh Baseball Now pointed out the sluggishness of Pittsburgh’s batting line on the 18th (Korean time), saying, “Is it time for Pittsburgh to trade relief pitchers to reinforce hitters?”
Pittsburgh had a terrifying rise in the early stages of this season. He was the first player to win 20 games in the National League, creating a sensation. However, in the last 10 games, they recorded 3 wins and 7 losses, and entered a downward trend, falling to 23 wins and 20 losses in the Central Division of the National League. 메이저사이트
Pittsburgh Baseball Now cited Pittsburgh’s poor scoring ability as the reason for their recent slump. Pittsburgh ranks 15th in team OPS (.721), 21st in runs scored (184), and 23rd in home runs (41). Only OPS managed to pull up in the mid-table, and the overall metric is getting worse and worse.
“Pittsburgh has scored two runs or less in 10 of their last 13 games. Bae Ji-hwan, Ki-Brian Hayes, and Austin Hedges are struggling at the plate, and a third of the lineup is filled with clear black holes.”
Bae Ji-hwan recorded an OPS of .609 with 2 homers, 11 RBIs, 19 runs, 14 stolen bases in 40 games this season with a batting average of .237 (27 hits in 114 bats). At the beginning of the season, he competed fiercely with Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta, 18 steals) for the lead in steals, but the gap widened as Bae Ji-hwan failed to record a single stolen base in the last 9 games. Pittsburgh Baseball Now said, “Bae Ji-hwan was always weak at bat, but he contributed to the team with base play. However, he has not stolen bases recently as his stealing success rate, which reached 90% in April, dropped to 50% in May.”
Pittsburgh’s bullpen is still strong, unlike the lineup that has lost power. He is running 6th in bullpen ERA (3.49). For this reason, voices are emerging that the relief pitcher should be traded to reinforce the batting line.
It is unknown what choices Pittsburgh will make this season. Through trade, you can challenge to advance to the postseason this season, or you have the option to protect prospects and key players by promising the next one. If traded, it is highly likely that it will not be good news for Bae Ji-hwan, who is important to the big league opportunities.