Club option dilemma Kim Hye-sung enters the dream club Dodgers, why is it a problem even if he doesn't do well?
Jan 05, 2025
|
Major League Baseball, and the fact that the most prestigious team joined is great. However, the road is not expected to be easy. This is because even if you do well, you can have a problem, and even if you don't, you can have a problem situation. But since I'm young, I can dream of a bright future.
Kim Hye-sung will wear the LA Dodgers uniform. Kim Hye-sung officially announced his trip to the Dodgers early on the 4th (Korea time), just before the posting deadline. The terms of the contract are up to $22 million for 3+2 years. It has a three-year $12.5 million guarantee and a two-year option.
It wasn't the contract of a 'big fish' player. So it's complicated. According to local reports in the U.S., it is a three-year, $12.5 million guarantee. The annual salary for this year is $2.5 million and the annual salary for the second and third years is $3.75 million, respectively, with a Cyning bonus of $1 million. There is a buyout. $1.5 million has been set aside. This is money given as a consolation prize if the Dodgers do not execute the two-year option.
When the two-year option is implemented, the buyout amount disappears. Then, it will end the guarantee period on the condition of three years and $11 million. Instead, an additional option of $500,000 depending on the number of at-bats will follow, with an annual salary of $5 million each for two years. Up to 11 million dollars for two years. That's how the $22 million contract is completed.
|
Usually expensive and popular, big-time players can pick a team in negotiations. In order to seduce the player, you have to offer him good conditions. So when you set the option, you put in the player option. It's called opt-out. Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco) was the best example last year. It's a total of six years, but it's four plus two years. After four years, Lee Jung-hoo can choose whether to go back to the FA market. It is a very favorable condition for the player. If the performance is bad around that time or the market conditions are not good, you can execute the two-year extension contract you have set. If you are confident, you can go to the market and get more money.
|
However, if it is tied to the club's options like this, it is a problem even if you do well or not. First of all, if you do well, you have the advantage of being able to play for five years, but you are doomed to continue to play at a 'whole price' without raising the ransom. Even if there is a team that recognizes Kim Hye-sung's ability and wants to use it as a main player, if it's not a trade, you have to wait until the contract is over.
If you can't do it, you have to clean up your life as a Dodgers for the first time in three years, which can be a pity in itself. In addition, if the contract ends in the absence of a leap to the starting lineup, the possibility of transferring to another team will be very low.
|
Even if there is a U-turn in the KBO League, it is at its peak. Although he may not achieve his dream of succeeding in the Major League, it is an environment in which he can challenge a new stage with a big 'insurance' that he can continue his career in the future with tremendous treatment when he returns to Korea.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
