Can KIA Survive Without Their Ace Relievers? Manager Lee Beom-ho's Bold Gamble

When Your Best Arms Need a Break

Picture this: Your team is on the verge of a sweep, and your manager announces that both your closer and setup man won't be available. That is exactly the situation KIA Tigers found themselves in on July 24th at Gwangju Champions Field. Manager Lee Beom-ho made the tough call to rest Jung Hae-young and Jo Sang-woo after they threw 32 and 27 pitches respectively over two consecutive games against LG Twins. The defending champions were already reeling from back-to-back losses, and now they had to face their rivals without their most reliable relievers. Korean baseball fans on community sites like Naver and DC Inside were buzzing with anxiety. One commenter wrote: This feels like going into battle without armor. Another quipped: At least they are being honest about it instead of running them into the ground. The transparency was refreshing, but the timing could not have been worse for a team desperately trying to avoid elimination from playoff contention.

The Yang Hyeon-jong Conundrum

Enter Yang Hyeon-jong, the 37-year-old franchise legend who has become both a symbol of KIA's glorious past and a question mark for their present. Throughout the 2025 season, Yang averaged just 5 innings per start with an ERA hovering around 5.06, throwing approximately 82.9 pitches per game. Manager Lee's game plan was straightforward but ambitious: if Yang could give them 6 innings, they would hand the ball to Sung Young-tak and Choi Ji-min for one inning each, with Jeon Sang-hyeon closing out the 9th. But what if Yang only lasted 5 innings? Then Jeon Sang-hyeon would still get the 9th, but Sung and Choi would need to cover 3 innings between them. Fans were divided on this strategy. Blog posts on Tistory questioned whether asking three pitchers to cover potentially four innings was realistic. The veteran Yang has been struggling all season, finishing with a 5.06 ERA that placed him near the bottom of qualified starters. His final start of the season on October 4th against Samsung was particularly brutal: 2.2 innings, 9 hits, 8 earned runs. Community reactions ranged from sympathetic to frustrated, with many acknowledging that Father Time catches up with everyone eventually.

The Bullpen That Broke Down

KIA's bullpen issues run deeper than just one rest day for Jung and Jo. Throughout 2025, their relief corps posted a 5.22 ERA, ranking 9th out of 10 teams. The second half was even worse at 5.39, with relievers surrendering a league-high 21 home runs. Jung Hae-young, who had been a model of consistency with four straight seasons of 20-plus saves, saw his velocity drop to the low 140s km/h. Jo Sang-woo, acquired specifically to bolster the bullpen, posted an alarming 11.57 ERA in July alone. The trade that brought Jo to KIA was widely panned as a failure by season's end. Only Jeon Sang-hyeon, KIA's first-ever 100-hold player, remained a reliable option. Jeon's durability and consistency became the stuff of legend among KIA fans. Comments on DC Inside praised him as the last man standing while others worried about overuse. Manager Lee acknowledged the harsh reality: When your relief ace collapses, team morale naturally suffers. But we have to focus on winning today. The collective bullpen collapse turned what was supposed to be a championship defense into an 8th place finish, a stunning fall from grace that left fans heartbroken and searching for answers heading into the offseason.

Community Pulse: Between Hope and Resignation

Korean baseball communities had mixed reactions to Lee's strategic decisions. On Naver Sports, the sentiment leaned negative with approximately 65 percent of comments expressing concern about resting key relievers during a crucial series. One highly upvoted comment read: This is what happens when you don't develop pitching depth. We are paying the price now. On the Epem Korea forum, fans were more analytical, breaking down pitch counts and discussing whether the rest would actually help Jung and Jo recover their form. Some pointed out that Jung had been working on a new cutter to complement his fastball, suggesting that mechanical adjustments rather than rest might be needed. Tistory bloggers took a more philosophical approach, with one popular post titled The End of an Era questioning whether KIA's championship window had already closed. The post garnered hundreds of comments debating roster construction and front office decisions. Meanwhile, PGR21 users focused on Yang Hyeon-jong's legacy, with most agreeing that while his current struggles are painful to watch, his contributions to the franchise are undeniable. The overall mood across platforms was one of resignation mixed with faint hope that somehow the team could turn things around, though deep down, most fans knew the 2025 season was lost.