'25S final guarantee is 4.4 billion...' The 16-hold mid-game contract is worth 5.2 billion won. FA Market Beyond Imagination
Nov 11, 2024
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Lotte Giants' press release just when they were curious about the contract news of the largest number of bullpen pitchers in the FA market.
Finishing Kim Won-joong decided to remain at a total of 5.4 billion won (4.4 billion won in guarantees and 1 billion won in incentives) for four years.
Soon after, he even reported the news of Koo Seung-min's contract. It signed a total of 2.1 billion won (down payment of 300 million won, annual salary of 1.2 billion won, incentives of 600 million won) in 2+2 years.
Jang Hyun-sik was in the spotlight as Kim Won-joong and Koo Seung-min quickly chose to stay. This is because he is a pitcher who can be classified as the biggest fish among the remaining bullpen FA.
He also became the hold king with 34 holds in 2021, and posted a stable record of 5 wins, 4 losses, and a 3.94 ERA with 16 holds in 75 games this season.
Naturally, the original team, the KIA Tigers, and the Samsung Lions, who seemed to need to reinforce the bullpen to win the Korean Series, were expected to rush to catch Jang Hyun-sik.
But the winner came from Seoul. The LG Twins reported on the contract with Jang Hyun-sik on the afternoon of the 11th. In fact, LG seemed to be a team that would not jump into the FA market. This is because the team is already quite full of salary caps, and it didn't seem easy to catch Choi Won-tae, an internal FA.
However, LG urgently needed to strengthen its bullpen than Choi Won-tae. Jang Hyun-sik entered the competition and succeeded in putting on a glossy jumper for a total of 5.2 billion won (1.6 billion won in down payment and 3.6 billion won in annual salary) for four years. Other competing teams are known to have paid similar amounts, but since Jang Hyun-sik is from Seoul High School, the Seoul team's offer worked in favor.
What surprised me was the size of the contract. There was no incentive for 5.2 billion won. a full guarantee.
Kim Won-joong, who signed a contract for 5.4 billion won, has more total, but only 4.4 billion won guaranteed, which is 800 million won more for Jang Hyun-sik.
Based on the superficial performance, Kim Won-joong recorded 25 saves this season and Jang Hyun-sik had 16 holds, so it seems that Kim Won-joong should receive a higher amount, but Jang Hyun-sik was more appropriate in the actual contract.
As Kim Won-joong and Koo Seung-min signed contracts, competition intensified as there were no A-class bullpen pitchers available to recruit, which is why Jang Hyun-sik's ransom has risen.
Jang Hyun-sik showed steady stability, and he pitched well in all five games in this year's Korean Series, taking one hit, three walks, and three strikeouts in five innings to earn one hold.
In the FA market, where there is no super-large FA, surprisingly large contracts are coming out one after another. It's always an FA market that goes beyond imagination.
indyk@sportschosun.com
