The contract between the LG Twins and veteran FA infielder Kim Min-sung to stay in the FA has begun. It is known that there is still coordination of overseas training related to Kim Min-sung’s future leadership life in the atmosphere of finalizing negotiations before leaving the spring camp.
LG made all-out efforts to remain as an internal FA this winter. Before the opening of the FA market, an LG official stressed that the company aims to capture all internal FA resources.
First, infielder Oh Ji-hwan applied for the FA qualification as a strategic measure to protect the 2nd draft. Oh Ji-hwan signed the contract as an FA, not the non-FA multi-year contract originally planned, worth a total of 12.4 billion won for six years.
Prior to this, LG signed a total of 5 billion won FA contract with Lim Chan-kyu, who showed the best performance as a native starter in the 2023 season, including 600 million won in down payment, 2 billion won in annual salary, and 2.4 billion won in incentives.
Lim Chan-kyu pitched in 298 games in the LG Twins’ uniform for 11 seasons from 2011 to 2023, recording 65 wins, 72 losses, eight saves, and a 4.62 ERA in 1,075.2 innings. Lim Chan-kyu, who started the season as an intermediate pitcher and established himself as a starter at a time when the team was in trouble, recorded the most wins (third overall) among domestic pitchers with multiple wins and 14 wins in the 2023 season.
Despite Casey Kelly’s shaking in the first half, LG was able to win the pennant race as Lim Chan-kyu clearly took the center stage throughout the season.
“He is an essential player as he represents the team. He has led younger teammates through positive influences and played a big role in helping the team win overall championship. Notably, this season marked career highs, making the team look forward to the next season even more. He will not only bring out his own performance but also lead the team in a good direction,” the team said.
Ham Deok-ju also signed a four-year contract worth 3.8 billion won, including 600 million won in down payment, 1.4 billion won in annual salary and 1.8 billion won in incentives.
Ham Deok-ju made a splendid comeback in the 2023 season. He only played in 29 games (33.2 innings) in total, suffering from injury in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but secured LG’s back by posting four wins, four saves and 16 holds with an ERA of 1.62 in 57 games (55.2 innings) in the 2023 season. With Ham Deok-ju’s performance at the forefront, LG was able to achieve its third overall win in 1990, 1994, 2023 in 29 years since 1994.
“Ham Deok-ju is a pitcher with a lot of experience including his national team experience. In the 2023 season, he recovered his health and performed his role as a member of his team’s must-win team,” LG said. “I hope he will continue to be healthy and throw balls for the team.” 랭크카지노도메인
Veteran infielder Kim Min-sung, who was born in 1988, also applied for his second FA qualification. Kim Min-sung played in 112 games in the 2023 season and showed rebound with a batting average of 0.249/68 hits/ eight homers/ 41 RBIs. Notably, he supported Oh Ji-hwan’s position at shortstop in the early first half of the season, contributing greatly to the regular season race. After recovering from a thigh injury in the middle of the season, Kim Min-sung played the role of backup for second baseman Shin Min-jae and third baseman Moon Bo-kyung, strengthening the depth.
Kim Min-sung is able to play all infield positions and still has rusty left-handed pitcher sniping and hitting ability. Kim Min-sung, who is thorough in taking care of his body and gaining role as a model for his juniors with warm leadership, is an essential player in the long-term race. Attention was focusing on whether Kim Min-sung, who wants to stay on the team, will be recognized for his contribution to the championship and get the desired result in the second FA contract.
The negotiation table for Kim Min-sung has been longer than expected. Although there was a sign-and-trade issue in the middle of the negotiations, it was difficult to produce a meaningful result in the FA market situation where most of them were tied to salary caps.
While focusing on remaining negotiations with LG, it is reported that the scale of Kim’s contract has been outlined to some extent. Based on a two-year contract, it is expected to be close to the size of Ko Jong-wook (KIA Tigers), who remained in the team through an FA contract this winter.
However, it is known that the negotiation table has not yet ended due to issues other than the contract amount. It is an issue related to Kim Min-sung’s training as an overseas leader. A baseball official said, “The amount of money is virtually decided on a two-year contract basis. I understand that only the matters related to Kim Min-sung’s future training as an overseas leader remain.”
Kim Min-sung’s side first proposed to the club to guarantee Kim Min-sung’s training as an overseas leader, which is drawing attention as the next leader. The LG club, which has usually paid attention to the growth potential of Kim Min-sung as a leader, is also positively considering it. If the contents of the overseas leader training are well discussed, negotiations are likely to be completed immediately.
I wonder if Kim Min-sung will be able to board next week’s flight to Arizona with his colleagues along with the remaining seal of LG within this week.