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| KIA 최원준-박찬호. Sports Chosun DB |
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If you tie it up with a non-FA multi-year contract in advance, there will be no internal war? There is a reason why it is not easy in reality.
As the non-FA multi-year contract system could be officially implemented through the interpretation of KBO authority, several clubs and players actively utilized it. Shortly after the 2021 season ended, SSG Landers succeeded in cracking down on key pillars of pitching in advance, giving Moon Seung-won, Park Jong-hoon and Han Yu-sum official non-FA multi-year contracts as pitcher and fielder No. 1. Another representative example is Samsung Lions' Koo Ja-wook, KT Wiz' Ko Young-pyo, Lotte Giants' Park Se-woong, and NC Dinos' Koo Chang-mo. The club first offered multi-year contracts to players who can become franchise stars of the team and who have both skills and future value.
The multi-year contract allows the club to delay the period of time the player is released on the FA market as much as possible, and the player can also focus on exercise stably as he has a strong sense of belonging. Of course, there is also a disadvantage that it is not free from the controversy over 'eat and run', but most of them are players who have been painstakingly raised by the club and enjoy the effect on their own. In addition, there are increasing cases of signing non-FA multi-year contracts with their original teams in the process of entering overseas markets and returning like Kim Kwang-hyun and Ryu Hyun-jin.
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| Kim Tae-gun, who signed a non-FA multi-year contract with Kia. Gwangju = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2024.10.28/ |
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With such active use, public opinion is often formed to tie players just before acquiring FA to non-FA multi-year contracts in advance. In the case of Choi Jeong-eui, a third baseman representing the league and the 'home run king', he has been discussing a multi-year contract with his team SSG since the season. However, at the request of the player, he signed an FA contract rather than a multi-year contract. In the case of a non-FA multi-year contract, a down payment cannot be given due to the contract structure.
But it's not as smooth as I thought. This is because there is far more than one internal FA. A case in point is the KIA Tigers. KIA failed to catch bullpen pitcher Jang Hyun-sik after the FA market opened this winter. It's not that there was no need for Jang Hyun-sik. There was also a consensus that the KIA club needs Jang Hyun-sik the most internally. Therefore, it is true that some people said that it should be tied to a multi-year contract in advance.
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| Game 5 of the Korean Series between Samsung and KIA at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 28th. Jang Hyun-sik pitches in the top of the seventh inning. Gwangju = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.10.28/ |
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However, from the club's point of view, they had no choice but to pay attention to other players. KIA had Lim Ki-young and Seo Geon-chang in addition to Jang Hyun-sik. Both were first-team players and were scheduled to acquire FA side-by-side. In the case of Seo Geon-chang, he also joined the Korean Series entry and played an infield backup role. Three players become FA, and if only one of them signs a multi-year contract in advance during the season, other players will feel relatively deprived. In particular, from the perspective of the team seeking to win, teamwork and the atmosphere of the team are more important than anything else, and the judgment that it has no choice but to affect this was effective. Moreover, the fact that all three players belong to one agency was a factor that made it difficult to sign a multi-year contract.
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| Park Chan-ho won his first Golden Glove award. |
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The same goes for next year. KIA's big players, including key shortstop Park Chan-ho and key outfielder Choi Won-joon, are set to acquire their first FA in their lives. There are already talks that it could be a contract worth 5 billion won or as much as 8 billion won. KIA is also well aware of this atmosphere. However, it does not seem to be able to move hastily again this time. This is because if you focus on one player and sign a multi-year contract in advance, relationships with other players or agency issues can be an obstacle to managing the season. It is expected to be closely reviewed until the end of the season and approach it as carefully as possible to set the negotiation table.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
