Bae Ji-hwan (24-Pittsburgh Pirates), who has been sidelined with an ankle injury, will begin a full-scale rehabilitation in the minor leagues. Meanwhile, Ronald Acuna Jr. (26-Atlanta Braves), a former stolen base contender, has reached 50 stolen bases.
“Bae will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis next week,” MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball (MLB), announced on March 30 (KST).
Bae is expected to check the status of his injury and improve his game feel while playing in the minor leagues. 메이저놀이터
Previously, Bae felt pain in his ankle while running the bases against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 2 and was placed on the disabled list (IL) the next day. The injury was reported to be an ankle sprain.
After making his big league debut late last year, Bae earned a spot on the Opening Day roster this season and has been getting consistent playing time as a utility player.
In 76 games this season, he is batting .238 with two home runs, 19 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.
While Bae was rehabbing for about a month, his one-time stolen base rival Yakuna Jr. widened the gap tremendously.
Up until May, Bae was a threat to Yakuna. However, Yacuna Jr. added 14 stolen bases in June and 12 more in July to take the lead in stolen bases. He’s seven behind the league’s second-place finisher, Esterly Ruiz (24, Oakland Athletics).