Lotte Giants pitcher Na Won-tak eventually retired without fully developing his skills.
Lotte voluntarily terminated the contract with Na Won-tak on the 30th. A Lotte official revealed the background of the voluntary termination, saying, “Na Won-tak wanted to do something else.” Na Won-tak was a prospect selected by the Samsung Lions in the 2017 rookie draft with the 19th overall pick in the 2nd round.먹튀검증
He was a catcher at the time of designation, but transferred to Lotte in November 2017 as a free agent compensation player for Kang Min-ho. Na Won-tak finished his military service on active duty after 2018 and turned to an outfielder in 2021, challenging the pitcher during the season. He was expected to follow in the footsteps of Na Kyun-ahn, who became a good case of ‘turning pitcher’ in the team.
Na Won-tak appeared in 10 games as a pitcher and recorded 13 hits (2 home runs), 12 strikeouts, 11 walks and 13 runs (12 earned runs) in 8⅔ innings. This year, he scored 3 runs in one game and ⅔ innings. He played 33 career games as a hitter, going 8-for-48 with 1 RBI, 2 runs scored, and a batting average of .188 and .355 OPS.
Coincidentally, Lotte manager Larry Sutton recently mentioned Na Won-tak. On the 19th of this month, coach Sutton said, “Every time he pitches, he shows improvement. In yesterday’s game, the splitter clearly showed an improvement over the previous first-team appearance.” I think that Na Won-tak is also in the process of making his own strengths and weapons.”
Through SNS, Na Won-tak said, “I have changed positions to become the player the club needs as an outfielder, first baseman and pitcher, but I have felt the pain of not being able to produce results and the regret of being a catcher. I have chosen to retire from life. I will not forget the fans who have supported me.”