I thought we could survive with our current player base. However, the proverbial ‘I don’t know the position, but I know the hole’ is being realized. The knee injury absence of Jack Rex, Lotte’s top scorer, is proving to be more significant than expected.
Rex was removed from the first team roster on April 17. He had been suffering from knee pain since the end of April, but he was managing it and playing, but the condition did not improve. He was diagnosed with a micro-tear in the patellar tendon of his right knee and was placed on the disabled list.
In 21 games in April, Rex batted .295 (23-for-78) with two home runs, 17 RBIs, and an OPS of .827. He was still the go-to guy with runners in scoring position, going 3-for-6 (11-for-30).
In May, he struggled, going 1-for-18 (7-for-37) with three RBI and a .511 OPS. The aftermath of his knee injury really took its toll. In scoring position, he went 2-for-3, which was better than his usual rate, but it was a huge drop from April.
Even with the drop in performance, Rex’s symbolism and presence could not be ignored. Especially with runners in scoring position, having a hitter who could turn a single into a double or a long ball at any time was definitely a burden on the opposing mound.
Lotte has been able to survive with their batting average in scoring position and their focus in clutch situations in the middle and late innings. That’s why they’ve been able to stay in the top half of the standings even though their overall offense hasn’t been great. They currently rank second with a .291 batting average in scoring position and third overall with an .812 OPS in clutch situations. Lotte’s focus is still good.
However, there is a difference between before and after Rex’s absence. In the 17 days since Rex’s departure, Lotte’s bats are just 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. One could argue that the batting lineup’s overall form has dropped, but the impact of Rex’s absence cannot be ignored.
In the Sajik NC on April 24, Lotte went just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base in a 1-3 loss.먹튀검증
For a team that has done well this year, Lotte seemed to handle Rex’s absence well. While Yoon Dong-hee’s performance has given the outfield a boost, it’s not easy to completely fill the void of a foreign hitter.
Currently, Rex is dealing with a sore knee at the Gimhae Sangdong Stadium. Ahn Kwon-soo is also dealing with a sore elbow and is expected to play. Hwang Sung-bin is close to returning from a rehabilitation game, but the outfield as a whole is lacking energy. For now, there is a strange atmosphere in the absence of a solution for Lotte, which was able to survive May.
