“It’s FA.”
At Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on Monday, I had to wait for a while when I was about to enter the away manager’s office to meet Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyung ahead of a practice game against the KIA Tigers. There was a reason. A strong young man with long hair was seen entering the away manager’s office first.
A Lotte source said, “Kim Won-joong stayed in his hometown of Gwangju after the end of the season and visited the Champions Field to greet Kim Tae-hyung when he visited Gwangju.” Kim Won-joong is a free agent after this season. The KBO has not announced the eligible players for the FA yet, but Kim Won-joong is a free agent. The free agent is not a member of any club until the contract is signed. He is not eligible for the final training, and strictly speaking, he does not have to participate even if there is a team event.
Coach Kim Tae-hyung laughed at the news that Kim Won-joong came to greet him in plain clothes and said, “It’s an FA.” Naturally, when the two FA players, Kim Won-joong and Koo Seung-min, came up, he said, “We have to catch them.” He did not elaborate afterwards, but as manager Kim Tae-hyung said, Lotte is in a position to catch the two FA players.
It is also Lotte’s first off-season assignment. For Kim Won-joong, he is certain to be rated A, and Koo has a chance to become A. Kim Won-joong had three wins, six losses, 25 saves and an earned run average of 3.55 in 56 games this season, while Koo had five wins, three losses and 13 holds and an earned run average of 4.84 in 66 games this season. 토토사이트
Kim Won-joong had not been in a bad season. However, he committed six blon saves and an earned run average (ERA) in the mid-3-point range. It was not an overwhelming season. Koo had a slow season. We cannot clearly predict their market prices at this point in time.
Anyway, Lotte has to catch two people. This is because there is no good alternative. In particular, if Kim Won-joong leaves, there is no alternative that definitely comes to mind. Someone may come up with Plan B, but there is no guarantee that he can do as much as Kim Won-joong.
Kim has an ERA of 5.08 with 39 wins, 49 losses and 132 saves and four holds in 381 games. He has garnered more than 20 saves in the five years from the 2020 season to this year, except for one season (17 saves in the 2022 season). There are not many closers in the league who have maintained their position this consistently.
Manager Kim Tae-hyung presented a list of tasks facing the winter season. Strengthening depth is key for both fielders and pitchers. Manager Kim Tae-hyung should set a framework to a certain extent and have a decider game. However, FA is entirely up to the front. The time is approaching for general manager Park Joon-hyuk, who is entering his second winter after taking office.
