Doosan Bears move Zach Logue to bullpen for KBO wild-card round

Doosan Bears manager Kim Won-hyong said in Seoul on Monday, October 12, that starter Zach Logue will move to the bullpen for the KBO postseason wild-card round. The fifth-seeded Bears need two wins at the fourth-place team’s home stadium to advance, making a pitcher who can cover innings in relief part of Kim’s plan for the opening round.

Why fifth-seeded Doosan needs two wild-card wins

The Korea Baseball Organization has scheduled the postseason opener for October 14. Its wild-card format allows a maximum of two games, both at the fourth-place team’s venue. Fourth place advances by winning or tying either game. Doosan, in fifth, must win the first game to force a second and then win again. That advantage for the higher seed leaves the Bears with no room for a loss or tie.

Kim said there was little point in holding back starting pitchers for a later round before Doosan had made it through this one. He wants the team prepared if a starter struggles after only a few innings, with someone available to handle multiple middle innings. He said every pitcher except the potential Game 2 starter would be needed for the opening game.

Yonhap identified Gwak Been, the regular-season leader in ERA and strikeouts, as the likely Game 1 starter. If Doosan forces another game, Wes Benjamin or Choi Min-seok could start it, the report said. Those were possibilities outlined before the wild-card round, rather than a confirmed account of how either game would unfold.

How Zach Logue’s role and season compare

Speaking to Yonhap before Kim addressed reporters, Logue said KBO hitters’ greater familiarity with him had made consistency harder and required him to be more precise. He also said he had made adjustments against some hitters and enjoyed more success against them than he had the year before. His account reflected both the difficulty of a second season in the league and the changes he had made during it.

Logue said he was looking forward to meaningful October baseball after Doosan missed the postseason in 2025, regardless of his role. Kim said the pitcher had volunteered to work in relief at some point during the Bears’ October 12 game against Lotte. Yonhap noted that Logue had previously pitched in relief in the US major and minor leagues. The report did not establish whether he ultimately appeared against Lotte.

Opponent and bullpen usage remain unsettled

When Kim spoke, Doosan’s fourth-place opponent had not been settled. The Kia Tigers and LG Twins were due to play on October 12 to determine the relevant standings position. Kim said he had no preference between them: as the fifth seed, the Bears needed to concentrate on their own play and could not afford to choose an opponent. He stressed the task of winning two straight games rather than looking ahead to later rounds.

The wild-card round has been part of the KBO postseason since 2015, according to a separate Yonhap report. Only one fifth-place club had overcome the fourth seed before this year: the 2024 KT Wiz, who did so against Doosan. That precedent illustrates the scale of the challenge facing the Bears under a format that gives fourth place two chances to advance.

Kim’s announcement establishes Logue’s planned bullpen assignment for the wild-card round, but it does not fix his precise workload. The number of innings he might pitch, or which game might call for him, was still unknown at the time of the report. Doosan’s first task is the October 14 opener, where a win is required to keep its postseason alive.