More Meetings X. I'm just waiting Tomorrow is the opening ceremony. What happens to the two uncontracted people

Jan 02, 2025

이용찬-김성욱. Sports Chosun DB

The club starts working right away, but what will happen to the two uncontracted players.

There are a total of five uncontracted players still in the FA market. They are fielder Seo Geon-chang, Ha Joo-seok, Kim Sung-wook, and pitchers Lee Yong-chan and Moon Sung-hyun. Among them, Lee Yong-chan and Kim Sung-wook both belong to the NC Dinos. By the end of the year, we could not find a clear point of contact and ended up facing the new year.

Among NC players, three players applied for FA. Among them, only one bullpen pitcher Lim Jung-ho has completed his contract. Lim Jung-ho was the only internal FA to end the contract on November 28, stamping a three-year maximum of 1.2 billion won with NC. On the other hand, Lee Yong-chan and Kim Sung-wook are in a slightly different situation.

Lee Yong-chan had two face-to-face meetings with the NC club. Since early December, the agent and the club have been talking on the landline. NC handed Lee Yong-chan the terms of the contract set by the club. However, we are waiting for an answer from the player. Looking at the player's prolonged worries, it can be seen that the club's conditions are not satisfactory or they are waiting for proposals from other clubs. NC is also in a position to sign a contract if the answer is that it accepts the proposal with Lee Yong-chan's contact window open. On the other hand, he met with Kim Sung-wook three times, but there is no significant progress. However, discussions are underway as we continue to contact each other since mid-December.

이용찬. Sports Chosun DB

The only variable is the other team's love call. They are players who have mentioned several possibilities, including sign-and-trade, but it is difficult to proceed quickly in reality. In the case of sign-and-trade, it is literally a trade, so NC needs conditions to agree. In order to meet this condition, difficulties are expected because consultations with other clubs who want to recruit must be drawn.

The NC club's position has been the same from the beginning to the present. "We need both Lee Yong-chan and Kim Sung-wook. It is clear that he is a necessary player, but he maintains that he does not overpay beyond the baseline we set. Since most of the FA players have already completed their contracts, and clubs have almost completed the construction of their power in the 2025 season, it is not easy to recruit additional players with a huge amount of money. Some clubs are full of salary caps, and others have met the limit of external recruitment. As we reach the end of the stove league, the uncontracted players remaining in the market are bound to be at a more disadvantage.

Coach Lee Ho-joon (left), who took the helm of the NC Dinos, shakes hands with the team's representative Park Min-woo at the inauguration ceremony held at the Olympic Memorial Hall of Masan Stadium in Masanhoewon-gu, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on the afternoon of the 31st. Yonhap News

NC will hold a New Year's party in Changwon on the 3rd to announce the start of the 2025 season. In consideration of the national mourning period, it will be held in a quiet atmosphere. CEO Lee Jin-man, general manager Lim Sun-nam, coach Lee Ho-joon, coaching staff, captain Park Min-woo, and all the players and executives will attend. Uncontracted persons are not present at this meeting.

NC is set to leave the first spring camp in Arizona at the end of this month. As the start of the camp approaches more and more, the concerns of uncontractors are inevitably growing.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.