SEOUL, South Korea (Yonhap) – Lotte Giants catcher Yoo Kang-nam, 31, has been sidelined with a side injury .Lotte removed Yoo from its first-team roster ahead of its home game against the KIA Tigers at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on Sept. 29.Yoo felt pain while swinging at a pitch against KIA the previous day (28) and was diagnosed with a “left adductor muscle injury” after a medical examination. The team plans to dedicate two to three weeks to recovery. Yoo, who began his professional career with the LG Twins in 2011, is eligible for free agency after the 2022 season and signed a four-year, 8 billion won contract with Lotte. While Yoo didn’t meet expectations at the plate with a .226 batting average, six home runs, and 29 RBIs, he protected the Lotte bullpen for 590 innings casinositekingcom this season, second only to Park Dong-won (646 innings-LG) among catchers in the 10 clubs .However, a side injury kept him out of the first team roster for the first time since joining the club .Lotte called up catcher Lee Jung-geun to the first team in place of Yoo Kang-nam, with Son Sung-bin as the starting catcher. KIA removed infielder Byun Woo-hyuk from the first team roster due to symptoms of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).The LG Twins immediately promoted pitcher Choi Won-tae, who was acquired in a trade with the Kiwoom Heroes, to the first team. Former Kiwoom outfielder Lee Ju-hyung was also added to the first team in a new uniform.