The end of a long tug-of-war. It went up by 6 million won. Re-signing Kia Kim Sa-yoon for 40 million won (official announcement)
Feb 08, 2025
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KIA renewed the contract on the 8th "Kim Sa-yoon's annual salary of 40 million won (34 million won in 2024) on the 7th." With this, the KIA Tigers have completed the renewal of the team's salary in 2025."
It's been a long, long negotiation of contract renewal. It is not that difficult for Kim Do-young, who was MVP, to renew his contract for 500 million won, up 400 million won from 100 million won last year, but the tug-of-war between the club and the player was this long at just 6 million won.
According to KBO League regulations, the renewal of the salary must be completed by January 31. Players who fail to complete salary negotiations beyond the deadline are classified as unsigned players. If you do not sign a contract, you will not be able to participate in group training from February 1, when you will be paid. Therefore, Kim Sa-yoon was excluded from both the first and second-tier spring camp list and had to train individually.
Kim Sa-yoon is a player whose name is well known as Kim Jung-bin. After graduating from Hwasun High School, he joined the SK Wyverns (current SSG Landers) as the 28th overall in the third round of the rookie draft in 2013 and began his professional career. In SSG, he rarely settled down in the first division, and in May 2022, KIA gave up catcher Kim Min-sik to SSG and made a one-on-two trade to receive Kim Sa-yoon and infielder Lim Seok-jin, making a fresh start in KIA.
Kim Sa-yoon blew the entire 2023 season with elbow surgery, but last year, he pitched 37 innings in 23 games in relief, recording 1 loss, 1 save and an ERA of 4.62. On May 30 last year, he made three innings of saves against the Changwon NC Dinos.
KIA offered an increased amount to Kim Sa-yoon, who received 34 million won last year, but it did not meet Kim Sa-yoon's expectations. Since the club determines its annual salary based on its high performance, there is not much room for change in the fixed amount. There is also a problem of equity with other players, and it can make the system twisted itself. The club has no choice but to be cautious, and the player has his own basis and insists on the amount he wants, which has lengthened the negotiation time.
I wonder what Kim Sa-yoon, who wrapped up the salary negotiations only about two weeks after the start of the spring camp, will look like this season.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
