Which team will Choi Won-tae (27), the biggest FA pitcher, wear next season.
There are currently eight contractors in the FA market. There has been no news of the contract for more than a week since LG recruited Jang Hyun-sik on the 11th. There are 12 uncontracted. Starting pitcher Choi Won-tae was considered the biggest FA fish, but he is still an uncontracted person.
Agent Choi Won-tae had his first meeting with his original team LG on the 12th. They broke up after a ritual meeting rather than a negotiation. There is no promise to hold negotiations anytime afterwards. LG asked the players to get their evaluation from the market.
Choi was a subordinate in LG’s priority list of recruiting free agents. In need of reinforcement of the bullpen, LG invested 5.2 billion won (total guarantee) for four years to recruit Jang. LG, which is certain to exceed the salary cap this year, cannot afford to spend much money in the free agent market to avoid exceeding the salary cap next year.
LG is not in a position to cling to Choi Won-tae. Negotiations are left open, but for now, LG is not actively proposing contract terms. In the worst case scenario, Choi Won-tae is preparing for the 2025 season assuming that he will not be able to join next year.
Above all, the amount of contract Choi Won-tae wants is large. The guidelines were up to 7.8 billion won for four years received by Um Sang-baek, who joined the team. However, LG says it cannot invest in Choi Won-tae as much as Um Sang-baek. If Choi Won-tae wants more than 8 billion won, LG cannot afford it. The negotiations between Choi Won-tae and LG are likely to be a long-term battle. Choi Won-tae’s side will continue negotiations with teams other than LG.
Having recruited bullpen pitcher Jang Hyun-sik, LG has left open negotiations with Choi in the FA market. There are no other plans other than Choi. “We have no other plans to recruit other players,” said Cha Myung-seok.
So far, 41.2 billion won has been released in the FA market. KT signed its first FA contract with Woo Kyu-min on the 6th for a two-year total of 700 million won (down payment of 200 million won, annual salary of 400 million won, option of 100 million won). SSG then treated franchise star Choi Jeong with a four-year total of 11 billion won (down payment of 3 billion won, annual salary of 8 billion won). 온라인바카라
Hanwha recruited infielder Shim Woo-joon for up to 5 billion won (4.2 billion won in guarantees, 800 million won in options) for four years on the 7th, and starting pitcher Um Sang-baek for a four-year total of 7.8 billion won (3.4 billion won in down payment, 3.25 billion won in annual salary, and 1.15 billion won in options) on the 8th.
KT acquired infielder Huh Kyung-min, who gave up his three-year, 2 billion won player option from Doosan on the 8th and became an FA, for a total of 4 billion won (down payment of 1.6 billion won, annual salary of 1.8 billion won, and option of 600 million won) for four years.
Lotte signed an FA contract with Kim Won-joong for up to 5.4 billion won (4.4 billion won in guaranteed amount and 1 billion won in incentives) for four years and with Koo Seung-min for up to 2.1 billion won (down payment of 300 million won, annual salary of 1.2 billion won and incentives of 600 million won) for two plus years. LG acquired Kia’s bullpen pitcher Jang Hyun-sik for a four-year guarantee contract on Wednesday.
