NC Dinos manager Kang Myung-ho said he is not in a hurry to call up Choi Seok-min, who has been improving his form in the second team, to the first team.

Ahead of the Dinos’ sixth game of the 먹튀검증 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on Friday, Kang said, “Park Seok-min is still not at his best defensively. He will not play a Futures League game until this weekend and will focus more on defense training.”

Park suffered a right hamstring injury while running the bases against the LG Twins in Jamsil on March 19 and was removed from the first team roster the next day. After more than a month of rehabilitation, he was able to get his body back to game-ready status and has been playing in Futures League games since the 23rd.

Park’s hitting isn’t perfect, but his trademark line drive is. With one hit in six at-bats and three strikeouts, he is slowly getting back into the swing of things.

However, Kang believes that when Park returns to the first team, he should not only be able to hit, but also play first and third base defense. For now, Seo Ho-cheol is doing a good job of filling Park’s void, so Kang will consider calling him up when Park is perfect in the field.

Seo went 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI against Sajik Lotte on April 24, helping NC to a 3-1 win. At first base, however, there is no other player who has made an impact in the offense, so the addition of Park would give Kang a little more breathing room.

“I think we should consider the timing of Park Seok-min’s return to the first team roster after seeing him play defense in the Futures League next week,” Kang said. “Seo Ho-cheol is doing a great job at third base right now, and if Park Seok-min recovers normally, he should play third and first base at the same time.”