The player he wanted to bring with him through trade was chosen as a compensation player for the FA. Outfielder Jang Jin-hyuk (31) may have been destined for the KT Wiz. KT coach Lee Kang-chul (58) finally has Jang Jin-hyuk, whom he has long had an eye on.
The professional baseball KT named Jang Jin-hyuk as a compensation player for pitcher Um Sang-baek, who moved to Hanwha on the 18th. Hanwha, which recruited Grade B FA Um Sang-baek, completed the compensation process by delivering 250 million won in compensation to KT along with Jang Jin-hyuk as a compensation player other than 25 protected players.
KT selected Han Seung-joo, a pitcher who is about to join Sangmu, as compensation for infielder Shim Woo-joon who moved to Hanwha as an FA. The first compensation player was named with a value for the future, but the second compensation player was immediately put in full swing, and the final decision was made to Jang Jin-hyuk without much hesitation a day before the deadline for the nomination.
KT has Mel Rojas Jr. and Kim Min-hyuk, who are negotiating re-signing as corner outfielders while center field assignments are taking the center stage. However, Kim Min-hyuk needs to be managed due to frequent hamstring injuries. On top of that, veterans Cho Yong-ho and Hong Hyun-bin were released, and new Jung Joon-young joined Sangmu, weakening the outfield depth. It was not a difficult choice as Jang Jin-hyuk was excluded from the Hanwha protected player list in a situation where the main outfield was needed.
KT’s general manager Na Do-hyun said, “The recruitment is aimed at strengthening the depth of fielders. We expect Jang to create synergy with existing outfield resources as soon as he has strength in defense and base running along with better-than-average slugging power in the KBO league.” 안전놀이터
Above all, manager Lee Kang-chul liked Jang Jin-hyuk. Even during the season, he tried to trade under the water, but it didn’t happen. In late August, manager Lee Kang-chul said of Jang Jin-hyuk, “If Hanwha wasn’t going to use it, they asked us to give it to them. I’ve seen them for a long time, and they have good physicality, fast feet, and good swing. I wanted to bring them in, but it didn’t work. Since then, they have been playing well. When I watch Hanwha games as a highlight, I always play it,” and he added, “I feel sorry for it.”
As coach Lee Kang-chul said, Jang has good physique of 184 centimeters and 90 kilograms, is fast on his feet and uses soft swings. In 2019, when he was coach Han Yong-deok, he played 113 games in the first team, but his growth slowed. He returned in the second half of 2022 after completing his active military service, but continued to move up and down the first and second teams. He failed to display potential, but since then, coach Lee has been keeping an eye on the possibility of Jang Jin-hyuk, who hails from his alma mater Gwangju Jeil High School.
However, after Kim Kyung-moon came to Hanwha in early June, no trade with KT was made as Jang Jin-hyuk was appointed as the starting member. Kim, who prefers fast-paced players, fixed Jang as a center fielder if possible. “As far as I know, I have reached the age of 30, it is time to open my eyes to baseball and do well. He makes good use of his legs, which is his strength, and gives me RBI when I need to.”
Jang Jin-hyuk also met Kim’s expectations by swinging the bat with a batting average of 354 (28 hits in 79 times at bat) and five home runs, 19 RBIs and an OPS of 1.033 in 23 games in August. His overall performance this season was also career-high with a batting average of 263 (76 hits in 289 times at bat) in 99 games, nine home runs, 44 RBIs, 56 runs and a on-base percentage of .335 with a slugging percentage of .412 OPS.747.
Despite the recruitment of free agents, Jang is expected to have an opportunity next year due to the Hanwha team’s weak field. However, Hanwha, which has secured a large number of promising players by ranking among the draft candidates in recent years, had to prepare for the future as well. Next year’s performance is the most important thing, but when young promising players were grouped together, the 25-member roster of protected players was full. Sohn met with Kim Kyung-moon at the Miyazaki Finishing Camp in Japan and formed the team after in-depth discussions. Jang, who is 31 years old and younger, was pushed out of the list, and eventually escaped as a compensation player for KT.
Jang was training at Hanwha’s Miyazaki Finishing Camp when the reward players were announced on Wednesday. He shed tears when he heard the news. He must be saddened to leave the team where he has worked for nine years just as he was about to show off his talent. However, it is worth accepting positively as he will be with a new coach who paid attention to his talent. It remains to be seen whether Jang will fully burst his potential at KT after meeting with coach Lee Kang-chul just like fate.
