Tess, thank you so much for all that time. KIA team will make a big decision and release the right to hold
Dec 26, 2024
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KIA Tigers broke up with foreign hitter Socrates Brito. KIA officially announced on the 26th that it will recruit new foreign batter Patrick Wisdom. It is not a surprise reversal because it was known that KIA was negotiating, but the breakup with Socrates has been finalized.
I got attached to it a lot. Socrates, a native of the Dominican Republic, first formed a relationship with KIA in 2022. While playing as a Tigers player for three seasons so far this year, he recorded a career batting average of 322 runs, 487 hits, 63 home runs, and 270 RBIs in the KBO League.
This year, they also won the championship together. Socrates, who suffered an extreme hitting slump at the beginning of the season, showed his ability to overcome the slump with coach Lee Bum-ho's encouragement, consideration, and relationship with strong players. At one point, there was even a rumor of replacing foreign batters, but KIA chose to encourage Socrates and lead him instead of taking a bold adventure.
It was a success in the end. Socrates was able to proudly wear the winning ring as the team's unified winning member while also performing well in the Korean Series.
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However, KIA, which had been agonizing over the existence of variables in the lineup, decided to recruit Wisdom with long-shot power instead of renewing the contract with Socrates. Socrates also understands this situation.
However, the KIA club included Socrates in the list of pending players submitted at the end of November. At the time, only one Eric Lauer was removed from the list. Players on the pending list can only be negotiated with their original clubs. If the contract renewal breaks down, the player cannot transfer to another team in the KBO League for five years.
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Ariel Furado and Enmanuel de Heysus, who recently gave up renewing their contracts, were not included in the list of players on hold from the beginning, allowing them to transfer to other teams without any separate procedures. Furado signed with the Samsung Lions and Heysus with the KT Wiz.
The right to withhold Socrates is held by KIA. However, after the breakup with Socrates was confirmed, the KIA team decided to release the right to hold.
In fact, Socrates is not in a situation where he can transfer to another team right away. After KIA, all 10 KBO League teams in the 2025 season have finished forming foreign players.
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The KIA team decided to release the right to hold if Socrates wanted to transfer to another team in Korea. As a foreign player who has been with the club for the past three seasons and even won the championship, it is judged that it is a measure that the club should take.
KIA's general manager Shim Jae-hak said, `From the beginning, I wanted to release the right to withhold. Socrates has done so much for our team over the past three years and contributed so much to the championship. I am very grateful for Socrates. I'll never forget the gratitude, even though I'm sad to say goodbye"I explained the reason and thanked him.
youll@sportschosun.com
