Can Hanwha’s No Si-hwan Overcome His Struggles to Complete the 2026 Offensive Strategy?

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[Sports Seoul | Reporter Kang Yoon-sik] We’ll show plenty of exciting, high-octane offense.

At the season-opening media day, Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon, 68, laid out that promise. Jonathan Peraza (28), Moon Hyun-bin (22) and Kang Baek-ho (27) have all heated up recently and are delivering on that pledge. Still, something feels off — Noh Si-hwan (26) needs to snap out of his slump for Hanwha’s 2026 brand of aggressive baseball to be complete.

Last year Hanwha’s identity was clear: protect leads behind a dominant starting rotation. This season looks different. The rotation lost key pieces, including Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss, so the club chose to beef up the lineup. Hanwha paid a hefty 10 billion KRW (approximately $7.5 million) in free agency to land Kang Baek-ho and re-signed foreign slugger Jonathan Peraza.

Early returns are encouraging. Hanwha’s team batting average sits at .282, second only to KT, and their batting average with runners in scoring position is .307 — the only club over .300. Moon, Peraza and Kang are all producing, hitting above .300 overall and with RISP.

But the offense still feels incomplete because Noh hasn’t contributed. He’s struggled since Opening Day — in 13 games he’s hitting .145 with three RBIs, six runs and a .394 OPS. His slump began during his time with the World Baseball Classic and carried into the season.

The glaring issue: strikeouts. Noh has fanned 21 times in 62 plate appearances. Strikeouts are often the tax of a power hitter, but he hasn’t produced the home runs to justify them. His batting average with runners in scoring position has fallen to .095. He’s been dropped from cleanup to sixth in the order and even laid down a sacrifice bunt.

Manager Kim made a decisive call: on the 13th he optioned Noh to the second team. Kim said that despite Noh’s work ethic and sense of responsibility, the player seemed burdened by stress after returning from the national team, and the club felt he needed time to reset.

Noh used his stint in the minors to regroup, focusing more on rest than on fine-tuning timing. He’s started appearing in games again over the weekend as he ramps up for a return. Kim plans to add him back to the first-team roster at the start of the three-game series at LG midweek and officially call him up when rosters open on the 23rd.

He’s a franchise star and a former home-run king, so the spotlight and expectations are inevitable. Last offseason Noh signed an 11-year, 30.7 billion KRW (including options) non-FA deal (approximately $23.0 million), and that massive contract likely added pressure. It’s part of being a star — and he’ll have to overcome it himself.

Hanwha’s pitching staff has been shaky out of the gate, which puts more emphasis on the offense to carry the club. Moon, Peraza and Kang are doing their part; adding Noh back into the mix would make this lineup significantly more dangerous.

Kim stressed, “Noh has to come back and hit. That’s how the team can string together wins.” The manager is right — Hanwha needs Noh, and he’ll have to respond once he returns to the first team. skywalker@sportsseoul.com