The Dinos made the announcement soon after an 8-7 loss to the visiting Samsung Lions at Masan Stadium in Changwon, 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul. It was their third straight loss and their eighth in the past 10 games.

The Dinos are the worst club in the KBO this year at 20-39, 5.5 games back of the ninth-place Lotte Giants.

This has been a stunning fall from grace for the sixth-year franchise, which has made the postseason the past four years.

The Dinos ranked seventh in their inaugural season in 2013, and finished third in 2014 and 2015. They ranked second in the regular season in 2016 and reached the Korean Series for the first time, falling to the Doosan Bears in four straight. They ended the 2017 regular season in fourth place and bowed out of the second round of the postseason.

With the Dinos on course for the worst season in their history, Kim, 59, took the fall moments after managing his 1,700th career game.

Yoo, 55, is a former semi-pro catcher who had been a scout for the Dinos before taking the GM job in January 2017. He has managed three different high school teams but has zero coaching experience in pro ball.

Yoo said Monday the key for him is to bring stability to the club.

"There won't be anything different," he said. "I think the players could be shaken up by this change, and my primary goal is to make sure we put a stable team on the field." 

Dinos President Hwang Soon-hyun paid tribute to Kim for carrying the young franchise this far.

"We'd like to thank him for his dedication, passion and hard work," Hwang said. "And we'll try to live up to our fans' expectations through bold changes." (Yonhap)