The Hanwha Eagles have been the standout so far in this year’s Stobrig. The team reshuffled its coaching staff and overhauled its roster at the end of the season. They signed veteran pitcher Jung Woo-ram, 38, as a pitching coach and brought in a new foreign batting coach.
Then, just two days after the free agency (FA) market opened on June 20, the team moved quickly. The Hanwha Eagles announced on Tuesday that they signed free agent infielder Ahn Chi-hong (34) to a 4+2-year contract totaling 7.2 billion won. Up to 5.5 billion won, including 4.7 billion won in guaranteed money and 800 million won in options. In addition, if the mutual contract extension (mutual) option, which gives both the club and the player a choice after four years, is triggered, the contract will be worth up to 1.7 billion won, including 1.3 billion won in guarantees and 400 million won in options for two years. A maximum of 6 years and 7.2 billion won.
The signings come just two days after the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) released its list of 19 approved free agents and the market opened. The first free agent signing was Jeon Jun-woo, who remained with the Lotte Giants, but it was the first outside signing, Ahn Chi-hong, that caught more attention.
Hanwha announced the signing of outfielder Jonathan Peraza, 25, on July 19, but general manager Son Hyuk met with Ahn later that evening and signed him on the spot. “We had to move quickly this season because we needed to sign a free agent,” Sohn said through the club, “He was a player we really needed, so we tried to fulfill his needs.”
“Hanwha gave me a great offer, which helped me make a quick decision. During the negotiation process, they emphasized why I was essential to the Hanwha Eagles,” he said, adding, “They emphasized how my coming to Hanwha Eagles could fill in the gaps that the team had been lacking.” Hanwha’s proactive stance swayed Ahn.
Hanwha remained in the bottom half of the table in 2023. Midway through the season, the club parted ways with coach Carlos Subero and promoted second team coach Choi Won-ho. After three consecutive years at the bottom of the table, Hanwha turned things around with an eight-game winning streak for the first time in 18 years, but ultimately had to settle for relegation.
There were highlights, of course. Moon Dong-ju became the league’s newest homegrown ace with a 160-kilometer-per-hour fastball, and Noh Si-hwan became the third player in Hanwha history to win the home run title. He also won two RBI titles, making him a strong candidate for the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
Rookie Moon Hyun-bin made the leap to the starting lineup while bouncing back and forth between the outfield and the bullpen, but the team’s batting average was last with a .241 average. The batting lineup needed to be bolstered.
After Peraza, the team brought in Ahn Chi-hong to add weight to the lineup. “He’s a player who can do everything from batting second to backing up the cleanup, so he’ll be able to create synergy with the new foreign players and Noh Si-hwan and Chae Eun-sung,” Son said.
Right-handed fireballer Kim Seo-hyun (19), who did not perform as well as expected in his debut season, and left-handed pitcher Hwang Jun-seo (18), the No. 1 overall pick in the rookie draft, also raise hopes that they will be great additions to the mound next year.
With the Stobrigg now in the books, what will Hanwha do next, and can we expect more unconventional moves? Having taken care of its most pressing task, the team will prioritize its internal crackdown. “We’ve brought in a foreign hitter and a free agent hitter, Ahn Chi-hong, so I think we should look at internal free agent Jang Min-jae,” said Son Hyuk.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that there won’t be additional outside signings. Position duplication could be a stumbling block, but adding Yang Seok-hwan would give the team a “nuclear batting lineup”. However, the team is not pushing the envelope. “All possibilities are open, but we have a lot of work to do besides free agency, such as the secondary draft and the issue of foreign pitchers, so we plan to move carefully from now on while watching the market situation,” Sohn said cautiously.
The secondary draft could be a big game changer for Stovrig. The second round of the draft returns for the first time in four years on April 22. The system, which allowed teams to draft players in the first through third rounds outside of the 40-man protected list to help balance the power imbalance between teams, was abolished for a while, replaced by a full-fledged futures free agency.
However, the second draft, which returned after a four-year hiatus, increased the transfer fee by 100 million won per round and reduced the number of protected players from 40 to 35. This means that more quality players can be released to the market.
The second draft will be held in reverse order of the 2023 season standings, starting with the first round, and the bottom three teams, including Hanwha, will be able to make two additional picks after the third round. 캡틴토토 도메인
There is also talk of a few veteran players who have struggled in the past. In particular, rumors are circulating that SSG Landers did not keep a one-hit infielder and a pitcher with a multi-year contract on the 35-man roster. With two first-round picks, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Hanwha could be the star of this second round.
Of course, even if they were to be released, it wouldn’t be a cheap move. Bringing in veterans who are already highly paid could complicate salary cap calculations. If you want to bring in a maximum of five players at 400 million won in the first round, 300 million won in the second round, 200 million won in the third round, and 100 million won in the fourth round and below, you will have to pay 1.1 billion won in transfer fees. This can also be a bit of a burden.
However, if you take the risk, it may lead to a ‘big signing’. The beauty of the secondary draft is that you can have fun if you bring in players with enough potential to grow, even if they are not necessarily veterans. Lee Jae-hak, a former Doosan Bears pitching prospect, was drafted by the NC Dinos and went on to win 81 games in 11 seasons with NC, including four straight years of double-digit wins starting in 2013. Kim Sung-bae and Oh Hyun-taek, who were acquired from Doosan by Lotte in 2012 and 2018, respectively, have also transformed into exceptional closers with 31 saves and 25 holds. Shin Min-jae, who helped the LG Twins win their first title in 29 years this season, was also a second-round draft pick from Doosan.
Of course, the secondary draft is characterized by a certain amount of risk, as there is less guaranteed performance compared to free agency. But for Hanwha, which has already spent a small fortune on Ahn Chi-hong, the second round is a golden opportunity to fill a position of need while minimizing additional spending.
