Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyung said in an interview with reporters ahead of the home showdown with the KIA Tigers in the 2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League exhibition game at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 8th that he would leave the role of the fifth starter this season to Na Kyun-an.바카라

Lotte, which has confirmed its starting pitchers Charlie Barnes, Tucker Davidson, Park Se-woong and Kim Jin-wook, has started searching for the fifth starting pitcher through the Tainan and Miyazaki camps in Taiwan. Na Kyun-an, who played the full-time starting rotation in 2023, as well as Park Jin and Park Jun-woo, who showed impressive performances at the end of last season and in practice games this year, competed for one spot. And Lotte's fifth starting pitcher for this season was finally confirmed on the day.

When asked about the selection of the fifth team member in an interview with reporters before the match, Kim said, "I decided to go to Na Gyun-an." The head coach said, "(Na Gyun-an) still has the most experience right now. I think Na Gyun-an also prepared well."

Na Kyun-an, who later met with reporters, said, "We have to show good performance in the trial game, so even if it's confirmed, I think we need to do better without complacency because we can give stability to the team and the fans."

Last year, Na had her worst year. Before the start of the season, she was at the center of controversy over her personal life, and in the middle of the season, a photo of her drinking alcohol the day before she started the game was uploaded on an online community. Notably, the day after she took the mound after drinking alcohol, Na had as many as seven hits (one homer) and six walks (eight earned runs) during the first ⅔ innings against KIA, which was canceled the next day. She returned to the first team at the end of the season, but failed to display her performance to the end of the season.

As a result, Na was sweating profusely this winter to recover her tarnished reputation. Notably, Na headed to Japan to find coach Kim Moo-young, who once played for the Softbank Hawks in the Japanese professional baseball league. "I had a different mindset and exercised since the end of the season and when I started the wrap-up camp. I think I was able to continue working out during the off-season because I was constantly doing volunteer work."

"I prepared a lot, but it was difficult because the results didn't follow, but it was helpful to talk a lot with the coaches around me, (former) Seung-min, and (Kim) Won-joong," he said. Regarding the fact that several players, including Park Jin and Park Joon-woo, threatened the 5th starting position due to their rapid growth in skills, he said, "It was motivated, but I was not conscious. It's because if you're conscious, it can be an over-face, and injuries can come. Seung-min and Won-joong have asked my brother a lot about this."

Na Kyun-an also revealed the reason for visiting Japan twice in the offseason. He said, "There is a coach Kim Moo-young at a university in Japan. I learned it because I had time to say, 'I want to learn from the coach' because I was close to him. And there is a baseball center around Fukuoka, and I was introduced to them. The pitch that coach Kim Moo-young threw when he was active was exactly the same as me. So I learned a lot about that part and the game plan from the coach, and anatomically from the center."

"Rather than desperation, I wanted to do anything. I thought a lot about 'I'll do everything to find a breakthrough'. And I had the chance," Na said. "This off-season, I've done everything I can, from building up my body. So I've also lost about 6-7 kilograms. Now I'm going to maintain this weight," Na said. "I'll do better only when I show good performance at trial games, because I can throw well even when I go to (regular) games."