With the opening of the FA market, he did his best to remain as a franchise shortstop, but he had no talent to overcome the money game against Hanwha, which participated in the market. Shim Woo-joon (29) left Suwon, which was so friendly, for Daejeon.
On the 7th, Hanwha Eagles officially announced the recruitment of FA infielder Shim Woo-joon. The deal was worth up to 5 billion won (4.2 billion won in guarantees, 800 million won in options) for four years, and the first transfer to the 2024-2025 Stove League FA was made.
With the opening of the FA market, Shim Woo-joon’s original team, KT Wiz, set the tone for staying at home rabbit and offered a four-year contract to the player. Although it was expected to remain in Suwon without much disagreement over the maximum conditions the club can offer, the situation has reportedly changed as Hanwha, which needs a good defense and a quick infielder, participated in the recruitment campaign.
“During the negotiation process with Shim Woo-joon, the team offered us a best offer, and the player said he would go to the market. When I thought the contract was almost over, the situation turned out to be different from what I expected,” a KT official who contacted OSEN on Wednesday said. “We also offered a much better price than expected, but it is up to the player to make the decision. There is nothing we can do. It is upsetting, but since the player was treated well, I would like to applaud him.”
After graduating from a high school, Shim was named KT’s second special 14th pick in the 2014 Rookie Draft. He also served as the starting shortstop for eight consecutive seasons from 2015 to 2022, the first year of KT’s youngest team.
In the 2021 season, he led the team to its first unified championship with a batting average of 268 and six home runs in 139 games, and in the 2022 season, he also contributed to advancing to fall baseball for the third consecutive year with stable offense and defense. Shim Woo-joon was an irreplaceable resource for KT’s infield before joining the military.
Shim Woo-joon, who has already turned 28 years old, fulfilled his military service obligations to Sangmu (National Military Sports Unit) on January 16, 2023. In his first year of the Futures League, he only hit 2.13 (34 hits in 160 at-bats) with one home run, 24 RBIs and eight steals in 64 games, but he upgraded his record to 288 (38 hits in 132 at-bats) with two home runs, 13 RBIs and 15 steals in 45 games this year.
Shim Woo-joon was discharged from the military in mid-July and pushed Kim Sang-soo to second base to announce the return of the founding shortstop. The stable defense remained the same, and he helped KT’s magical journey from last to fifth place with his excellent batting performance. In 53 games of the season, he left a strong impact with a batting average of 266, three home runs, 28 RBIs, seven steals, and a 22-point scoring batting average of 412.
Shim Woo-joon continued his performance on the fall stage as well. He played in all big games, including two wild card games and five semi-playoff games, and displayed stable shortstop defense. Although Shim’s hitting in the wild card game was poor, he left a batting average of 255, two RBIs and one stolen base, including a dramatic finishing hit in Game 4 in the semi-playoff.
Shim Woo-joon finished the 2022 season and became a free agent, but temporarily suspended his exercise of his right due to the military enlistment issue. As a result, Shim’s strategy to take one step back to advance two steps hit the mark. Although Shim was able to put down the title of KT’s franchise shortstop, he will be treated generously for four years and 5 billion won, and can now dream of becoming the main shortstop in Hanwha’s new Daejeon stadium next season.
On the contrary, as Shim Woo-joon left the team, it is inevitable that shortstop depth will weaken during the 2025 season. An alternative would be for “dynasties infielder” Kim Sang-soo to return to shortstop. “When I first brought Kim Sang-soo in, I tried to keep playing shortstop position. I still have two years left until service time. I think I can fully cover the team,” a KT official said. “I think we should focus on Kim Sang-soo and nurture new players.”
Then, is there any possibility that the team will strengthen its capability by recruiting external FA players? There are still a number of infielders in the FA market that can help Ha Joo-seok, Ryu Ji-hyuk, and Heo Kyung-min.
A KT official said, “We need to see the situation, but we need to consider recruiting external FA as well. We will prepare by communicating with the team again.” 안전놀이터
