Will the compensation duo advance to the bullpen in the first division?
LG Twins' Kim Yu-young and Yun Ho-sol came to LG last year as compensation players for their FA transfer players Yoo Kang-nam and Chae Eun-sung. After sending out key players, LG agonized over compensation players but thought about strengthening pitchers' side to win the championship, and immediately picked former players Kim Yu-young and Yun Ho-sol.
Expectations were high because both of them played in must-win groups. Kim Yu-young pitched in 68 games in 2022, posting a 6-2-13 hold and a 5.65 ERA, while Yun Ho-sol had a 3-5-7 hold and a 4.04 ERA in 52 games.
Of course, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop took both of them to Arizona's first team camp. Kim Yu-young thought of him as a starting agent as he had the advantage of a variety of pitches.
However, Kim Yoo-young and Yun Ho-sol were not in the first team in 2023, when LG won the title for the first time in 29 years. Yeom gave young prospects such as Yoo Young-chan and Baek Seung-hyun rather than Kim Yoo-young and Yun Ho-sol, and Kim Yoo-young and Yun Ho-sol did not have a chance as they unexpectedly settled in the first team and completed the race until the end.
Kim Yoo-young, who saw an opportunity while throwing in the Futures League, underwent surgery to remove a bone fragment from her elbow in June, effectively finishing the 2023 season and preparing for the 2024 season.
Yun Ho-sol pitched in 24 games in the Futures League, recording four wins, two saves and three holds with an earned run average of 3.26, and only made it to the first team in September, an expanded entry. He did not win or lose in four games, but posted a not bad performance with an earned run average of 2.45. Unfortunately, he failed to make it to the Korean Series, as he failed to show any significant performance in the first team.
The two have another chance in the 2024 season. Last year, there was an empty spot in the powerful bullpen, where they did not have time to enter. Lee Jung-yong joined the Sangmu, Ko Woo-suk left for the Major League, and Ham Deok-ju could not come out in the first half due to elbow surgery.
Yeom also brought many pitchers to the Arizona camp to strengthen his bullpen, including Kim Yoo-young and Yoon Ho-sol. He has to engage in fierce competition with Lee Sang-young, Kim Dae-hyun and Jin Woo-young.
There are not many cases of compensation players succeeding in the history of FA. It is rare that young prospects have grown, and even if they bring in a sense of power immediately, they do not perform as well as expected.
The second season after transferring to a compensation player. Will the "compensation duo" show a better performance than their previous team? If they throw well, it will be a great help to LG's second consecutive loss.