The Seven Unlucky Ones Who Gave Up Their Free Agency Jackpots...What's A Cold Winter When You Have A Secondary Draft?
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7 people who gave up on free agency.
The 2023-2024 FA market opens on the 19th. The KBO released the names of 19 free agents on the 18th. It also revealed that there were 15 players who gave up their free agency status. Of the 15, Moon Seung-won (SSG Landers, 5 years, 5.5 billion won), Park Jong-hoon (SSG, 5 years, 6.5 billion won), Han Yoo-seom (SSG, 5 years, 6 billion won), Kim Tae-gun (KIA Tigers, 3 years, 2.5 billion won), Park Se-woong (Lotte Giants, 5 years, 9 billion won), and Koo Ja-uk (Samsung Lions, 12 billion won) have signed non-free agent multi-year contracts with their teams.
Choi Jung (SSG, 6 years, 10.6 billion won) is a free agent through the 2024 season. And Jang Won-jun announced his retirement after this season. In the end, there were actually seven players who opted out of free agency: Seo Gun-chang (LG Twins), Park Kyung-soo (KT Wiz), Lee Jae-won (SSG Landers), Shim Chang-min (NC Dinos), Shin Jung-rak (Lotte Giants), Kim Hun-gon (Samsung Lions), and Lee Yong-kyu (Kiwoom Heroes). 먹튀검증
These players will be able to sign general contracts with their teams. The second round of the draft will be held on Feb. 22. It is advantageous for teams to sign a player to a free agent contract instead of a regular contract if he will be with them next year. Free agents are automatically protected. Nevertheless, it's safe to say that the players who have opted out of free agency have little or no incentive to hold on to them.
Seo Gun-chang is the first to come to mind. After returning to his family in a one-for-one trade with Chung Chan-heon (Kiwoom Heroes), he was eligible for free agency at the end of the 2021 season. However, Seo has waived his eligibility three times in a row leading up to this free agency market. This season, he was reunited with his former manager, Eun-sa Yeom Kyung-yeop, but it didn't work out. In 44 games, he batted .200 with 12 RBI and a .542 OPS.
Lee Jae-won also had a prolonged slump. His batting graph hasn't recovered since injuries and slumps in 2020. In 23 games this season, he's batting .097 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Shim Chang-min has also been bad for two straight years after being traded from Samsung to NC in 2022. He is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in five games this season.
Shin Jung-rak joined Lotte this season and is 4-1 with a 4.66 ERA in 34 games. Lotte's stance is curious. Kim has only appeared in six games this season due to a back injury. Lee Yong-kyu is hitting just .234 with 11 RBIs in 50 games this season. He hasn't gotten many chances in Kiwoom's rebuilding effort.
Park Kyung-soo is the one who has the strongest connection to the club. He batted .200 with one home run and 12 RBIs in 107 games this season, but was still used heavily in the postseason as a backup second baseman. However, he'll be 40 next year, so it's time to start thinking about his future.
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