Finally, the Doosan Bears' "15-hold right-hander" will return. Doosan pitcher Choi Ji-gang plans to return to the first division ahead of the series next week after completing the final inspection of the Futures League. This is great news for Doosan's mound, which suffered from a tight lineup of pitchers in the early days of the season.메이저사이트

Choi Ji-gang took the mound in relief in the bottom of the sixth inning against SSG Landers, strengthening the Futures League on the 4th, and recorded 16 hits, one strikeout, and no runs in 1.1 innings. 

Choi took the mound in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on the first base, and grounded out Choi Min-chang to the second base to end the inning. Taking the mound in the bottom of the seventh inning, Choi caught Choi Yoon-seok with a fly ball to the second base, and then struck out Hong Dae-in. Then, he induced the last batter, Park Jung-bin, to ground out to the second base to end the game. 

Choi posted a maximum speed of 148 kilometers per hour in the game on Sunday. Choi did not have any physical problems after taking the mound. As planned, Choi had to take the mound at a Futures League game on Thursday to monitor his pitching performance. However, as the Futures League game was canceled due to rain on Thursday, the team changed its plan. 

Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop met with reporters ahead of the game on the 5th and said, "Choi Ji-gang will pitch in the Futures League game tomorrow (6th) due to the cancellation of the Futures League rain today (5th). "I woke up this morning and had no problem, so I will take the mound as normal tomorrow. If there is no problem, I will register for the first team next Tuesday (August 8)." 

Right-handed fireballer Choi Ji-gang, who was born in 2001, joined Doosan as a nurturing player in 2022. Having played in two games for the first team in the 2022 season, Choi proved his potential by playing in 25 games (22 innings) in the 2023 season. 

In just one year, Choi has emerged as the league's top setup man. In 55 games (50 innings) in the 2024 season, Choi pitched three games, one loss, one save, 15 holds, 3.24 ERA, and 45 strikeouts. Along with closer Kim Taek-yeon, Choi showed off his must-win status at Doosan last year. 

However, Choi has suffered shoulder pain since mid-season. Choi was removed from the first team roster on July 15 last year due to shoulder pain, and returned to the first team on Aug. 17 after spending about a month in rehabilitation. 

Since then, Choi Ji-gang has shown a trend of regaining stability with a 3.60 ERA with two holds in six games in August. However, Choi was sluggish in September with a 9.82 ERA in four appearances. In the end, Choi ended the season intact after being pulled back from the first-team roster due to a recurrence of shoulder pain.

Having been excluded from the list of the first-tier spring camp, Choi focused on rehabilitation and prepared to return to the team. There were variables, too. Choi got conjunctivitis in late March, which delayed his preparation for the upcoming season. Doosan is going through a hard time as its main pitchers such as Kwak Bin, Hong Gun-hee and Lee Byung-hun are suffering from tightrope injuries right after the opening of the season. If Choi returns, it will be of great help to stabilize the bullpen in the team, which experienced nightmares about pitchers' injuries in the early days of the season.