There is no reward player, but I will take him if I need him. Grade A transfer 52.4% and Grade C transfer 28.6%

Dec 22, 2024

There is no reward player, but I will take him if I need him. Grade A transfer 52.4% and Grade C transfer 28.6%
FA Kim Kang-ryul signed with the LG Twins. Photo courtesy = LG Twins



There is no reward player, but I will take him if I need him. Grade A transfer 52.4% and Grade C transfer 28.6%
Lim Chang-min signed an FA contract with the Samsung Lions. Photo courtesy of Samsung Lions
There is no reward player, but I will take him if I need him. Grade A transfer 52.4% and Grade C transfer 28.6%
Heo Do-hwan moved to LG on an FA contract. Photo courtesy = LG Twins
Grade C without compensation players is not as free to move as expected. It's not very popular in the market.

A total of 25 people, including sign-and-trade, transferred to domestic FA for four years from the 2021 FA market, which is divided into the current A, B and C grades. Among them, A grade with 20 protected players was the most with 11, and B grade with 25 protected players was 8. There were only six C-levels without compensation players.

In terms of ratios, a total of 21 people came to the market in the A-grade over the past four years, with 11 transfers, with 52.4% changing teams, and in the B-grade, 8 out of 28 changed uniforms, with 28.6%. In the C grade, six out of 21 people moved to the team and recorded 28.6%.




With the implementation of the rating system, it was predicted that C-grade players without compensation players would benefit a lot. Veteran players with low salaries or their first FA of 35 or older become C grade, and if they are asked to give and take compensation players, they will not be able to transfer freely.

However, the transfer was not as easy as expected.

In the FA market, which was implemented as a grade system for the first time since the 2020 season, only one person in C grade was Kim Yong-eui. And I signed a stay contract with LG. In the second market held after the 2021 season, four C-grade players came out, Kang Min-ho and Jung Hoon remained at Samsung and Lotte, but Park Byung-ho moved to KT, and Heo Do-hwan made the first transfer to LG. After the 2022 season, nine C-levels came out. Among them, Lee Tae-yang and Oh Sun-jin moved to Hanwha and Won Jong-hyun moved to Kiwoom, and three moved to the team. Five people signed a contract to stay, and Kang Yoon-gu finally left the ground without signing a contract.




There is no reward player, but I will take him if I need him. Grade A transfer 52.4% and Grade C transfer 28.6%
A game between KT and KIA at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 1st. Seo Geon-chang, who hit a timely RBI single with one out and a runner on the second base in the bottom of the fourth inning. Gwangju = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.5.1/
There is no reward player, but I will take him if I need him. Grade A transfer 52.4% and Grade C transfer 28.6%
In the game between NC and Samsung at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 7th, NC Kim Sung-wook hit a three-run home run with two outs and runners on the first and second bases in the top of the first inning and is sharing his joy. Daegu = Reporter Huh Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2024.09.07/
There is no reward player, but I will take him if I need him. Grade A transfer 52.4% and Grade C transfer 28.6%
Kiwoom Moon Sung-hyun is pitching hard in a match between Kiwoom and KT at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 21st. Suwon = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2024.08.21/
After the 2023 season, seven C-levels came out, but only one transfer was made. Lim Chang-min moved to Samsung. Jang Min-jae (Hanwha), Kang Han-ul, Oh Seung-hwan, Kim Dae-woo (Samsung), Ko Jong-wook (KIA), and Kim Min-sik (SSG) all signed with their original teams to stay.

Grade C is not very popular in this market as well. Grade A Choi Won-tae moved from LG to Samsung, while grade B Shim Woo-joon Um Sang-baek (KT → Hanwha), Heo Kyung-min (Doosan → KT) and Jang Hyun-sik (KIA → LG) moved their teams, and only Kim Kang-ryul moved from Doosan to LG in Grade C. Of the 20 FA in the FA market, a total of eight are rated C. As of the 21st, five people signed contracts, but only Kim Kang-ryul transferred, while Kim Heon-gon (Samsung), Woo Kyu-min (KT), Choi Jung (SSG), and Lim Jung-ho (NC) all remained. Three people, including Seo Geon-chang, Kim Sung-wook and Moon Sung-hyun, have not signed yet, but the weight is on staying rather than moving.

In the end, even if there is no obstacle to being a reward player, it is the same to recruit if other teams need it. Recruiting FA should help the team, even if it's grade C. If a person is needed for the team as a main player, the original team will step up and work hard to sign a stay contract. This is why all big players such as Choi Jung and Kang Min-ho and Oh Seung-hwan remain.




Still, it is clear that it is a C-grade with a positive function because there are more cases where they could transfer because there are no compensation players. LG relieved the backup catcher's worries by bringing in Huh Do-hwan, and Samsung was able to strengthen the bullpen by recruiting Lim Chang-min.

If the team needs a reward player, they bring him or her, but if he or she is not a necessary player, he or she does not look at him even if there is no reward player. The professional world is very cold.



indyk@sportschosun.com