Pittsburgh Pirates' Bae Ji-hwan (26) recorded one RBI without a hit.

Bae Ji-hwan was substituted in during the bottom of the third inning as a defensive replacement for left field in a spring training game against the Detroit Tigers on March 10 (Korean time) at Public Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, recording 3 at-bats with no hits and 1 RBI.

Having his hit streak of 2 games snapped, Bae Ji-hwan's spring training batting average dropped from 0.615 to 0.500 (8 hits in 16 at-bats). While the sample size is small, Bae Ji-hwan has performed exceptionally well in spring training, maintaining a batting average of .500 despite 3 at-bats without a hit.

In the top of the fourth inning with one out and the bases loaded, Bae Ji-hwan pulled a low sweeper on the fourth pitch from left-hander Tyler Holton to hit a ground ball to first base. This resulted in 1 RBI as he brought home the runner at third, Rioberto Peguro. It was Bae Ji-hwan's second RBI of the spring training.

In the top of the sixth inning with two outs and no runners on base, he struck out. After hitting consecutive fouls off right-hander John Brebbia on the first two pitches, he swung and missed at the third pitch, a high changeup on the outside.

In his last at-bat as the leadoff hitter in the top of the ninth inning, he was out on a ground ball to second base. He hit a sinker that was in the strike zone from right-hander Tyler Owens, but it went straight to the fielder.

Defensively, Bae Ji-hwan entered the game during the bottom of the third inning and immediately handled a fly ball from Spencer Torkelson. He moved to center field in the bottom of the sixth inning and caught a line drive from Bly Madris in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Bae Ji-hwan, a right-handed pitcher and left-handed batter from Kyungbuk High School, signed with Pittsburgh in March 2018 for a signing bonus of $1.25 million, embarking on his Major League journey. He made his debut as the 26th South Korean Major League player in September 2022, and in the 2023 opening roster, he showed promise with a batting average of .231 over 111 games (77 hits in 334 at-bats), hitting 2 home runs, driving in 32 RBIs, scoring 54 runs, drawing 30 walks, striking out 92 times, stealing 24 bases, with an on-base percentage of .296, slugging percentage of .311, and an OPS of .607.

As a utility player who can cover second base, shortstop, and center field, he aimed for full-time starting status last year but fell prey to injuries. He suffered a left hip injury during spring training, preventing him from making the opening roster, and although he was called up for the first time on May 22, he landed back on the injured list with a right wrist sprain on June 5. Last year, he recorded a batting average of .190 over 23 games (11 hits in 58 at-bats), with no home runs, 4 RBIs, 11 runs, 5 walks, 19 strikeouts, and a stolen base, with all hitting metrics declining.

However, this year, he aims to re-enter the opening roster while showing strong hitting from spring training, maintaining his health. In this spring training, he has focused solely on the outfield, playing center field (5 games, 5 starts, 23 innings) and left field (5 games, 1 start, 16⅔ innings), without playing infield. As the Pittsburgh lineup has been established, Bae Ji-hwan is vying for a spot on the 26-man opening roster as a backup. With top-level speed in Major League Baseball, he has sufficient utility as a designated runner or defensive replacement.

[OSEN = Lee Sang-hak reporter]