Free agency is great, but why not push for a long-term deal for Noh?
The Hanwha Eagles had a dismal 2023 season. They barely made it out of the playoffs. But if there’s a silver lining, it’s that they’ve found a two-hit wonder who could be their future. They’re Noh Si-hwan, a big bat, and Moon Dong-ju, a hard-hitting fastball pitcher. They have a bright future ahead of them, thanks to good results and a gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, where they received military service benefits.
Hanwha officials and fans had plenty to smile about at the KBO League awards ceremony on Sunday. Noh Si-hwan won the home run and RBI awards, marking the beginning of his new career as the KBO’s leading hitter. Moon Dong-joo won the Rookie of the Year award.
Noh hit 31 home runs and 101 RBIs this season. His batting average was just two shy of a triple. Regardless of the record, the player seems to have gained full confidence. He’s been a big-time prospect since his days at Gyeongnam High School, but this season has really opened his eyes to the game of baseball. Once a player breaks out of the egg, it’s very likely that he’ll continue to average his numbers unless he has a serious injury or slump.
Which brings us to Noh’s non-free agent multi-year deal. Hanwha has been opening its wallet like crazy in Stavrig since last year. They spent 9 billion won on Chae Eun-sung and a whopping 7.2 billion won on Ahn Chi-hong in free agency. There’s even talk that the team is looking to sign more free agents because of their salary cap space.
Free agency is an obvious way to strengthen your roster. However, it’s not a good idea to sign a player just because you have the money to spend if you don’t have a “customized” player for your team. For example, if Hanwha were to sign Yang Seok-hwan, who is a free agent, it would definitely improve the strength of the batting lineup, but the downside is that there would be too much duplication of defensive positions.
With no additional free agents on the horizon, why not push for a long-term deal for Noh? Non-free agent multi-year contracts are designed to prevent the free agent market from overheating, locking up promising players early and developing them into franchise stars.
However, the KBO is not yet mature enough to utilize this system. It has turned into a system where teams give players huge sums of money just a year before their free agency for fear of losing them to other teams. They give players five years for four years of free agency. And with more and more cases of multi-year contracts, there are no big-name players in the free agency market, but desperate teams are paying big-name ransoms.
It would be refreshing to see Korean clubs make bold investments in players who have no doubts about their abilities and can be the signature of the team, just like the major league clubs. Noh Si-hwan is a good example.
Noh has played five seasons so far this season. He still has three more years to go before he is eligible for free agency. If you’re going to give him 4 years and 10 billion won in 3 years, it’s better to lock him up early with a 7 or 10 year deal at a reasonable price. Noh can relax and play baseball without worrying about his performance before free agency. He doesn’t seem like the type of player who would stop working hard just because he has a guaranteed contract, and he’s not old enough to be declining. Teams don’t have to worry about losing their new star to another team 카지노사이트. With no army to worry about, continuity is guaranteed.
Of course, these investments don’t guarantee 100% success. They can fail. Even in the U.S., there are plenty of examples of failed multi-year contracts. But if you’re not willing to play the long game, you’re not going to be able to change the fact that clubs will be drawn to players on the market every time. Even with a contract like this, it’s up to the club to find a player who will consistently perform well. The sooner they do, the sooner they can keep him for less money. It might be worth making an offer for Moon Dong-ju, who is in his second season.
