'WBC savior of the nation' Moon Bo-gyeong (LG Twins) will miss the exhibition games due to a back injury. Even if he gets his body ready for the regular-season opener, defense is expected to be difficult.
LG Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb told reporters ahead of the 2026 KBO League exhibition game against the KT Wiz at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 16th that the club slugger Moon Bo-gyeong received injection treatment.
Moon Bo-gyeong, who stood tall as Korea's hero in the 2026 WBC with a torrid bat—.438 average in five games (16 at-bats, 7 hits), 2 home runs, 11 RBIs and a 1.464 OPS. But the fighting spirit led to the misfortune of an injury.
Manager Youm Kyoung-youb sighed, "Moon Bo-gyeong kept playing even though his back was bad. He probably won't be able to play in the exhibition games," and added, "He is receiving an injection treatment today. He will likely be able to play in the opener, but defense will not be easy. If possible, we will have him play one game as designated hitter in the second team and consider using him as designated hitter in the opener."
Although he injured his back, Moon Bo-gyeong has reinvented himself through this WBC as an international hitter who will carry the future of Korean baseball. Manager Youm Kyoung-youb smiled wryly and said, "He has grown into LG's cleanup hitter and the national team's core hitter. What our team gained from this WBC is that Moon Bo-gyeong took a step forward through the experience. We got that one thing. That's enough. Right now it is actually a very difficult situation."
On the 16th, he also talked about plans for other players returning from the United States. Manager Youm Kyoung-youb said, "The remaining players will rest and then join the game in Incheon on the 19th. Park Hae-min and Shin Min-jae can play normally without problems, and Yu Young-chan can start building up from then," adding, "The biggest problem is Song Seung-gi. His body is completely not ready, so even with two build-ups he will probably only be able to throw 60–70 pitches in his first opening appearance. It can't be helped," expressing regret.
Against KT left-hander starter Kwon Sung-joon, LG set a starting lineup of Lee Jae-won (right field), Cheon Seong-ho (center field), Hong Chang-ki (designated hitter), Austin Dean (first base), Moon Sung-ju (left field), Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Gu Bon-hyeok (second base), Chu Se-hyun (third base) and Lee Ju-heon (catcher), in that order. The starting pitcher is Lachlan Wells.
LG has 1 win, 1 tie and 2 losses in exhibition games, while KT has 2 ties and 2 losses with no wins.
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