Ryu Ji-hyeok of the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization has been removed from the first base roster after being substituted due to side pain. Hanwha Eagles rookie Cho Dong-wook was also removed from the first team.

The KBO announced the roster additions and deletions on Monday, a non-baseball day. A total of nine players were removed from the first team. Samsung's Ryu Ji-hyeok, Hanwha's Cho Dong-wook, Lotte's Kim Kang-hyun, SSG's Lee Jung-hyun-seung, LG's Kim Min-soo, Choi Myung-kyung, and Doosan's Choi Jun-ho were expunged from the first team roster.

Among the first-team players, Ryu Ji-hyuk was dropped from the first team. In 45 games this season, Ryu is batting 2-for-9 with 42 RBI (142 at-bats), one home run, 22 RBI and a .726 OPS. Earlier in the season, in late March, he was diagnosed with a bursitis in his left shoulder and was sidelined for three weeks. Since then, he has struggled with a calf contusion and other injuries.  

He was removed after the first inning against Gochuk Kiwoom on Sept. 9. In the first inning, he hit a double to left-center off starter Enmanuel De Jesus. Ryu Ji-hyuk, who reached base on a single to center by Koo Ja-rook, was replaced by Ahn Joo-hyung in the bottom of the first inning.

“He felt pain in his right side while batting and was replaced to protect the player,” a club official said at the time. Ryu Ji-hyuk underwent a detailed examination at the 먹튀검증 club's designated hospital on Tuesday and was diagnosed with a micro-injury to his right adductor muscle. Due to the sensitive nature of the injury, it will take time for him to return to action. Ryu's injury is likely to be a setback for Samsung in the standings race.

Hanwha rookie left-hander Cho Dong-wook was also removed from the first team after posting a 1-1 record with a 6.33 ERA in five games. He picked up a win in his debut against Kiwoom last month, allowing one run (unearned) on three hits and one walk in six innings. In his last start against NC on April 9, he allowed one run on five hits, three walks and one hit batsman while striking out four. 

Doosan's Choi Jun-ho has been a steady presence in the starting rotation lately. In 10 games (9 starts), he is 2-2 with a 4.20 ERA. However, he struggled against KIA on April 9, giving up four runs in four innings and was removed from the first team. 

SSG and Lotte also added two more players as special entries for the doubleheader, but two of them were removed again. Lotte had pitcher Kim Kang-hyun and catcher Lee Jung-geun removed from the roster, while SSG had pitcher Lee Gun-wook and outfielder Jung Hyun-seung removed from the first team.