“There were times when I played baseball with one starter…”
KT, which has been at the bottom of the league since mid-season, is ranked fifth in the league as of Tuesday. It is not in a position to guarantee its advancement to the post season yet, but it is preparing for the last race amid a number of positive factors rather than the beginning of the season. KT coach Lee Kang-chul says, “Looking back on the season, I was able to withstand the crisis amid various players’ efforts.” Um Sang-baek (28) is one of them.
Lee chooses Um Sang-baek as one of the driving forces behind the team’s ability to withstand the situation. KT had to wait for the opening as Soh Dong-joon underwent elbow surgery. Ko was away for a long time due to his injury, and Wes Benjamin sometimes took a break as well. In the early days of the season, he even struggled hard to select rookie players. However, William Cuevas and Um continued to rotate relatively consistently.
Eom pitched 135 ⅔ innings in 25 games this season, recording 11 wins and 9 losses with an ERA of 5.04. He may not be satisfied with his ERA, but he is one of the few native starting pitchers in the league who played in the regular innings. Although he had ups and downs in each game, he still managed to secure 11 wins, contributing to KT’s rebound. Manager Lee even laughed, saying, “When did we win 11 games?” His pitching performance was so good that he had 143 strikeouts during 135 ⅔ innings.
Eom will become a free agent after the season. However, Eom is not the only one who will become a free agent. Shim Woo-joon (29), the team’s main shortstop, is also a free agent. Shim had already become a free agent before joining the military. After being discharged from the military, he had a batting average of 0.260 with two homers, 18 RBIs and four steals in 32 games, proving that he is an indispensable resource for Shim. Manager Lee Kang-cheol said, “I eagerly anticipated Shim’s joining the team at a time when the team’s infield was poor, and emphasized that Shim is an essential player. 메이저사이트
Both players are popular in the FA market. Um Sang-baek is a valuable native starting resource in his 20s. Shim Woo-joon is a shortstop who proved both ball, catcher and state. It seems that interest in the market will be quite high, and it is true. In other words, KT is bound to be a concern. In the market with salary cap, even if the two players just stay on their original team, it is expected to face difficulties in setting FA prices and negotiations. Moreover, if they compete, there is no guarantee that they will catch everything.
Coach Lee Kang-chul believes that the team will display sufficient capabilities in the FA market. A club official also said that the team will do its best to catch both players. It is certain that the team will move in the direction of catching both players. However, the reality may be different from the ideal. KT is also known to be closely monitoring external trends.
KT, which took away its image as a new team and won the Korean Series title in 2021, will gradually have its leading players in the free agent market. Most Korean Series winners will undergo this process. The problem is that they will appear one after another. After the end of the 2023 season, Kim Jae-yoon, who was the team’s built-in finisher, has become eligible for free agent. However, Samsung had to bet a large amount of money and exceeded the limit of KT, and was forced to give up the offer. It could have done so, but it was difficult to reconcile with Ko’s non-FA multi-year contract (a five-year total of 10.7 billion won), which was scheduled to become a free agent after the 2024 season. KT eventually chose Ko.
If it ends with Um Sang-baek and Shim Woo-joon, he can go all-in this year, but he is not. Veteran Hwang Jae-gyun is about to become a free agent again. Even so, Kang Baek-ho (25), one of the leading hitters, is also a free agent. Kang, who has completed seven years of registration this year, will become a free agent after the 2025 season as scheduled. He is a star with outstanding hitting ability that comes out in his mid-20s. Industry insiders predict that if he enters the free agent market, the total number of triple digits will be certain.
Although his performance has not been very good recently, it is no secret that many clubs seeking to strengthen their offensive capabilities are keeping an eye on Kang. For KT, negotiations between Kang Baek-ho and non-FA multi-year contracts, which are certain to be the most difficult since its foundation, are inevitably difficult. Industry watchers say that it is impossible to catch all three players due to salary cap conditions. Amid KT’s growing agony, attention is also focusing on how much the players will increase their value.
