Hwang Dae-in (29), a rising star of the Kia Tigers, is facing the worst situation. Following unfavorable factors such as recruiting foreigners as first baseman and renewing contract with Seo Geon-chang, he was excluded from the spring camp list, and is on the verge of extinction due to his lack of foothold.안전놀이터

Kia unveiled the list of participants for the "2025 Season Spring Camp" on Wednesday. Sixty players, including 22 coaching staff including Lee Bum-ho and 38 players, were on the list. The team consists of 18 pitchers, three catchers, 10 infielders, and seven outfielders. Among the new players in 2025, pitcher Kim Tae-hyung is the only one on the list.

Seo Geon-chang, who recently renewed his FA contract, Byun Woo-hyuk and Lee Woo-sung, who were in charge of taking turns at first base last year, were on the list, but Hwang Dae-in's name from the "first round" could not be found.

Hwang joined Kia as the first runner of the second round of the 2015 rookie draft. It was the first time in six years that Kia used the first round of nomination rights to infielders since its nomination of An Chi-hong in the 2009 rookie draft. As such, high expectations were placed on Hwang.

Hwang Dae-in also seemed to live up to expectations by hitting a double-digit home run (14 home runs) in the first team in the 2021 season, hitting a batting average of 0.276 with four home runs and 16 RBIs in 86 games in the 2020 season, when he got a chance to play in earnest.

However, the team failed to make further progress. In the 2022 season, the team saw its performance stagnate with 14 homers, 91 RBIs and an OPS of 0.716 in 129 games, and in the 2023 season, it hit a career low with a batting average of 0.213 with five homers and 26 RBIs and an OPS of 0.618 in 60 games. The team showed signs of revival at exhibition games in the 2024 season, but failed due to injury.

Since then, unfavorable factors have continued for Hwang Dae-in. Kia officially announced on Monday that it signed a contract with Patrick Wisdom, a foreign batter, for a total of 1 million U.S. dollars, including a down payment of 200,000 dollars and an annual salary of 800,000 dollars. During the U.S., Wisdom used third and first baseman position. Kia plans to use Wisdom as its first baseman.

Seo Kun-chang, who played 276 ⅔ in 51 games as a first baseman last year, also re-signed his team. Seo, who has secured up to 500 million won (488,500 U.S. dollars) in two-year contracts, will likely receive a considerable opportunity as the only left-handed first baseman in the KIA lineup.

Lee, who played 670 ⅓ innings in 87 games as a first baseman in the 2024 season, has been listed as an outfielder. Byun, who played 314 innings in 53 games, the second-most innings after Lee, will be utilized as a backup to the first and third bases. In other words, the main first baseman and two backup players have already been identified for next season.

Hwang Dae-in, who has limited use in defense to the first baseman, is in a situation where he cannot even penetrate the first division entry, let alone compete to become a starting member. If this continues, it will be highly unlikely that he will be given a chance to prove himself at exhibition games after the spring camp.