Lotte posted an ERA of 5.36 in its team's bullpen in the 2024 season. It ranks ninth among the 10 teams. Kiwoom (6.02) was ranked 10th.안전놀이터

Chung Chul-won's shoulders become heavy.

Through a trade with Doosan at the end of November last year, Lotte gave up Kim Min-seok, the first round player of the 2023 rookie draft, and brought pitcher Jung Cheol-won with them. Jung is the only external recruitment Lotte has made in this stove league.

Lotte needed Jung Cheol-won and offered Doosan a trade first. In the process, he took the bleeding of giving up Kim Min-seok. It was an inevitable choice for Lotte, which had more outfielders than the bullpen.

Chung is a proven bullpen resource. After graduating from Ansan Technical High School, Chung was drafted by Doosan Bears as the 20th pick in the second round of the 2018 Rookie Draft, and he stayed in the second division until the 2021 season before joining the army. After finishing his military service as an artillery member, Chung returned to the team in the 2022 season and threw balls over 150 kilometers. That year, he recorded four wins, three losses, three saves and 23 holds in 58 games. He ranked sixth in the hold category league and won the Rookie of the Year award that year.

Last year, he was named the closing pitcher until the opening of the season, drawing keen attention from fans, but saw his performance slow down as he recorded one win, one loss, six saves and an earned run average of 5.91 in 13 games through April. He was excluded from the entry list at the end of April and returned in June, but failed to perform his part. Notably, his performance in six games since September showed sluggish performance, with seven runs and an earned run average of 13.50 in 4.2 innings. Last year, he posted an earned run average of 6.40 in 36 games, including two wins, one loss and six saves.

Lotte highly valued the fact that it instantly felt energized. Not many pitchers have performed as well as Chung. Jung's career performance at Sajik Stadium was four hits, five walks, five strikeouts and one run (non-earned) in seven games and eight innings.

He does not seem to have much difficulty adapting himself. After his transfer was decided, he contacted senior players including Kim Won-joong to greet them. He also played with Kim in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team. "Jung has a strong personality," Kim said. Chung's wife is also close to Busan.

The reunion with Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung is also a positive factor for Jung Cheol-won. Kim Sang-jin, the new pitcher coach at Lotte, is also well aware of Jung Cheol-won. In many ways, there are many factors that will make Jung Cheol-won the Rookie of the Year again.