Choi Won-tae, Koo Seung-min, and Kim Won-joong are mentioned as eligible for free agency after the 2024 season.
Go Young-pyo signs a multi-year contract with KT for a total of 10.7 billion won over 5 years
KT Wiz Go Young-pyo is shaking hands with KT General Manager Na Do-hyeon after signing a non-FA multi-year contract with KT at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 25th.
KT announced, “We signed a multi-year non-FA (free agent) contract with Ko Young-pyo for a 5-year contract period and a total of 10.7 billion won (9.5 billion won in guarantees and 1.2 billion won in options).”
In December 2021, Seung-won Moon (5 years, 5.5 billion won) and Jong-hoon Park (5 years, 6.5 billion won) signed with SSG Landers, ushering in the era of non-free agent (FA) multi-year contracts in the KBO League. It started in earnest.
And Go Young-pyo, who signed with KT Wiz on the 25th for a total of 10.7 billion won for 5 years (9.5 billion won in guarantees and 1.2 billion won in options), is the 13th contract case for both fielders and pitchers since the introduction of the system.
Just this year, among fielders, Choi Hyeong-woo (KIA Tigers) signed a 1+1 year contract worth 2.2 billion won, and Kim Seong-hyun (SSG) signed a 3-year contract worth 600 million won, but pitchers’ non-FA contracts expire after Koo Chang-mo (NC Dinos) in December 2022. It’s my first time.
Non-FA multi-year contracts have the advantage of allowing clubs to retain key players without competing with other clubs, and allowing players to play the season without the burden of signing FA contracts.
However, inevitably, the risk of long-term contracts cannot be avoided.
In particular, among the pitchers, Moon Seung-won and Park Jong-hoon, who signed the ‘first non-FA contract’, performed below expectations, and Koo Chang-mo, who signed with NC for 6 years and 12.5 billion won, suffered from injuries after signing the contract and is virtually in a ‘closed position’.
At least, only Kim Gwang-hyun (SSG, 4 years, 15.1 billion won), signed in March 2022, and Park Se-woong (Lotte Giants, 5 years, 9 billion won), signed in September of that year, were worth the name.
KT franchise star Ko Young-pyo was scheduled to become a free agent after the 2024 season.
KT early on set a goal of retaining Ko Young-pyo before he entered the free agent market, and met with the player several times to build a consensus on a multi-year contract.
If Ko Young-pyo revived the pitcher’s non-FA multi-year contract after about a year, the candidates to succeed him are also attracting attention.
Players like Go Young-pyo who meet free agency qualifications at the end of the 2024 season are likely to be eligible for multi-year contracts with the club.
Among the starting pitchers who met the requirements, the name of Choi Won-tae (LG Twins) stands out the most.
Choi Won-tae played for Kiwoom Heroes last season and was traded to LG.
At LG, he got the championship ring he dreamed of, but he performed poorly at the end of the regular season and in the Korean Series.
In Kiwoom, he consistently showed his ability to handle innings both inside and outside regulation innings, and was a player who also achieved double-digit wins, so if he regains his skills, he will be a key member of the team.
From Choi Won-tae’s perspective, the presence of Go Woo-seok (San Diego Padres), who was scheduled to become a free agent at LG but advanced to the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB), could be good news.
This is because LG has been able to focus on Choi Won-tae as Go Woo-seok’s overseas advancement has relieved the burden on the salary cap (total annual salary cap).
KT Eom Sang-baek, who has won 18 games over the past two seasons, is also one of the candidates. 스포츠토토맨