Park Hyo-joon did not participate → Release → FA succeeded in ‘remaining ML’ contract with OAK after twists and turns

After a big league release jeopardized his chances of extending his stay in the U.S., Hyo-Jun Park has found a new home. The destination is Oakland.

“Park Hyo-joon signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics on the 21st of this month,” said CBS Sports, a local American media outlet.

Park headed to the United States in 2014 while still a student at Yatap High School, signing with the New York Yankees for $1.16 million. At the time, Park chose to pursue his dream despite offers from KBO clubs. In 2021, he made his big league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the 25th Korean leaguer in history.레모나토토 도메인

In 2022, Park batted .216 with two home runs and six RBIs in 23 games for Pittsburgh. However, Park has been on a downward spiral ever since. He was released by the Boston Red Sox and moved to Atlanta, where he spent the season on the disabled list before hitting .262 with six home runs, 16 doubles, 42 RBIs, and 49 runs scored in 101 games for the Atlanta Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, the Gwinnett Strikers.

However, he couldn’t overcome Atlanta’s depth chart and didn’t play a single game in the big leagues, and was eventually released once again.

Park then naturally became a free agent. While he could have entered the KBO, this would have put his career on hold.

According to the KBO’s Baseball Rules, the “Rookie Player” section states that “a rookie player who has attended high school or higher in Korea and has signed a player contract with a foreign professional team without being registered as a member of a Korean professional team may not sign a player contract with a KBO team for two years from the date the player contract with the foreign professional team ends.

Under this provision, even if Bic Hyo-joon returned to Korea, he would not be able to play in the KBO for two years until 2025.

After a series of twists and turns, Park found a new team and is expected to stay with the Oakland A’s until they move to Las Vegas. Oakland went 50-112 this season, with the lowest winning percentage (0.309) in the majors.

Notably, the Major League Baseball owners’ meetings on Sunday unanimously approved a proposal to move Oakland to Las Vegas beginning in the 2025 season.

The rebuilding Oakland team will provide plenty of opportunities for Park, who is looking to reenter the major leagues.

“Park has a great opportunity to rebound in Oakland, where the A’s lost 112 games last year,” said CBS Sports, “and he’ll likely start the 2024 season in Triple-A.”

“Of course, it’s good to have many good players, I hope Seok-hwan stays at Doosan…”” Can we stop the dissolution of the Yang Brothers

Doosan Bears catcher Yang Ji-soo is desperate to prevent the ‘Yang Brothers’ from disbanding. He hopes that his teammate Yang Seok-hwan, who left for free agency, will stay with Doosan.

Yang attended the 2023 KBO Awards on November 27 and won the Defensive Award for catcher.

The KBO Defensive Award, which recognizes the position player with the most outstanding defensive performance in the regular season, was established for the first time this season. The winners were determined based on a combination of 75% of the votes cast by 110 voters, including the manager, nine coaches, and 11 general managers from each club, and 25% of the defensive record score.

Yang was the winner of the catcher award. Yang received 34 votes from the voting panel, earning 75 points, and 17.41 points for the catcher’s defensive record score, which includes stolen bases excluding catcher-unassisted stolen bases and official records, for a total score of 92.41 points.

After winning the defensive award, Yang said on stage, “I am honored to receive the inaugural defensive award, and I really wanted to win this award. Personally, it’s a disappointing season because of my poor performance. I will do my best to prepare Doosan for a higher ranking.”굿모닝토토 도메인

Speaking to the press after the ceremony, Yang Ji said, “I finished the season and I felt that my personal performance was not good enough, but winning the Inaugural Defense Award means a lot to me. I feel that I should continue to work hard in my career so that I am not ashamed of this award.”

Doosan is still looking for a backup catcher to support Yang in the 2024 season. The team selected LG catcher Kim Ki-yeon in the second round of the KBO Draft to strengthen the competition for a backup catcher.

Yang said, “The managers always said they wanted to rest me more, but it didn’t work out (laughs). I’ll try to stay fit and keep wearing the catcher’s mask. I think I need to help the younger catchers, including (Kim) Ki-yeon, who is a junior at my school. I’m not going to be the main catcher for the next 10 years, so I think it’s my job to create the next catcher. Together with Coach Battery, I will try to help them a lot.”

Yang also hopes to retain teammate Yang Seok-hwan, who left for free agency. The long-hitting “Yang Brothers” need to form a central batting lineup together to maintain their destructive power.

“I tried to meet with (Yang) Seok-hwan recently, but it was canceled. I hope he stays. It’s not easy for the club, but I think the more good players we have, the better. The juniors need more time to grow, so I hope Seok-hwan stays and we can work together in the center of the order.”

Yang regretted that his season with Doosan was a bit of a mixed bag. For the 2024 season, he is determined to prepare properly and show his full potential.

“Last winter, I didn’t have enough time to prepare properly. I didn’t have a lot of time to breathe because I was called up to the national team. I wasn’t in good shape and had a difficult start to the season. I was disappointed with my individual results. Personally, I think I should have done better than this, and I will work harder next year to meet that goal. If I can do better, I’m sure the team will follow suit,” he said encouragingly.

NPB Rakuten ‘holds indefinite home waiting’ for Anraku ‘alleged bullying of colleagues’

The Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japanese professional baseball have ordered pitcher Tomohiro Anraku (27) to “stay home indefinitely.

They have postponed his contract renewal indefinitely, and are discussing his “retirement.

“Several Rakuten players complained that they were harassed by Anraku,” Japanese media outlets such as Sportshochi reported today (Nov. 27), “and the club interviewed Anraku, the victims, and sent emails to more than 100 people, including players and officials, to further investigate.”

“Anlaku assaulted several juniors. Some players were hit in the head by Anraku, which affected their training,” and “Anraku continued his harassment in the locker room, including molesting juniors by forcing them to remove their underwear and persistently calling juniors who declined invitations to meals.”토토사이트

Rakuten had originally planned to sign Anraku to a contract for the 2024 season on May 25, but put the deal on hold after receiving the “harassment report.

If the team does not place Anraku’s name on the pending list submitted to Nippon Baseball Organization by November 30, he will become a free agent.

Anraku joined Rakuten as a first-round pick out of high school.

Early on in his career, he was touted as a “future starter,” but he failed to break into the starting lineup and has only made relief appearances since 2020.

His career record in Nippon Professional Baseball’s first team is 231 games (28 starts), 18 wins, 21 losses, 3 saves, 50 holds, and a 3.59 ERA.

This year, he has appeared in 57 games with a 3-2 record, 10 saves, and a 3.04 ERA.

The club said, “We apologize for the distress caused to our fans. We will fully disclose our findings once we have completed our investigation.”

Veteran Surprise Transfer ‘Happiness’…a big system supplementation task

The resurrected baseball secondary draft has become a big hit with baseball fans. This is because veteran transfers were made at the secondary draft stage, which was evaluated as a place to exchange prospects, and provided new ‘baseball fun’ to the KBO stove league. However, it also exposes the gaps in the system and requires measures to compensate for them.굿모닝토토 도메인

The secondary draft is designed to give players who have fallen off the radar a chance to move to other teams. Each team will designate 35 protected players, excluding foreign players, players in their first to third year, and free agents (FAs), and submit them to the KBO. The 10 teams can then choose to sign players off the protected list. With the reinstatement of the secondary draft, which was abolished at the end of 2020, veterans like infielder Choi Joo-hwan (35) and pitcher Woo Gyu-min (37), who have dominated the league in the past, have been removed from the protected list, while Choi grew up in SSG and Woo Gyu-min switched teams from Samsung to KT.

The most shocking news was the departure of Kim Kang-min, 41. SSG removed the 2022 Korean Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) from protection. The franchise star played 22 seasons in Incheon, but it was assumed that he would not be designated for assignment as his performance was not as good as it used to be. He hadn’t even indicated ‘retirement concerns’ in the ‘Remarks’ section of the roster. Unable to solve the outfield problem, Hanwha selected veteran Kim Kang-min in the fourth round. SSG’s decision was a nail in the coffin for fans, and Kim Sung-yong, the team’s general manager, was pushed out as the head of the R&D center, his former developmental team, due to the controversy surrounding the second round draft process. It was a shock to fans and teammates, as well as to Kim himself. Kim contemplated retirement, but changed his mind and decided to stay with Hanwha to burn one last flame.

These unpredictable stories have brought a new narrative to baseball and will likely increase interest in the second round of the draft. But it also leaves us with a challenge. There is a loophole that allows teams to avoid drafting veterans in the secondary draft two years from now by labeling them as “contemplating retirement” in the remarks section. The KBO reinstated the secondary draft and added a clause stating that players selected in the first and second rounds have a mandatory registration period for the first team, but there is no way to fix this.

“I would like to see senior players honored, not only for the sake of the players but also for the sake of the fans,” said a club official. “Just as young players under the age of three are automatically protected, we need to think about protecting players who have played for a certain amount of time, such as 15 years.” Others disagree. “The unpredictability is what makes the secondary draft so exciting,” said one baseball player, “and if you want to honor the fans and the players, make them protected.”

That’s not all. There is also a need to prevent players from intentionally declaring free agency to increase the number of players on the secondary roster when they already have verbal contracts. Oh Ji-hwan, 33, who had already agreed to a multi-year contract with LG, filed for free agency, allowing LG to reduce its roster by one player. “Going to the free agency market when you have a specific amount of money and a specific period of time with LG is actually an act of tempering and disrupting the market,” said a club official. “By choosing free agency instead of a multi-year contract, Oh Ji-hwan was able to lower his grade in the next free agency contract and get a favorable contract.”

The KBO plans to create a system with no loopholes. “Regulations related to the secondary draft are something that needs to be amended to the baseball rules,” said a KBO official, explaining, “It may not happen until early next year at the earliest, as we need to open an executive committee and then go through a board of directors with the president.”

ML NPB Ex-SSG mercenaries without making a debut in Korea, 5G ERA 5.40 even in his hometown

Eni Romero, who signed with SSG Landers but was released before making his debut due to injury, is reportedly struggling in his homeland.

“Romero is playing in the Dominican Republic Winter League, but is struggling,” Japan Full Count reported on March 25 (KST).

SSG signed Romero ahead of this season. They signed him for a total of $1 million ($800,000 salary, $200,000 option). He was expected to be the first starter, but he complained of shoulder pain while pitching in a practice game during the second camp in Okinawa, Japan. After that, he disappeared.

He rehabbed in the U.S., but the news was not encouraging, and Romero was not seen in the exhibition games.

Finally, in early May, the SSG made a decision. They signed Roenis Elias (34).

Romero was a concern before signing, as he had a history of back, forearm, and shoulder injuries. In 2020, while playing for the Junichi Dragons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League, he suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to leave the team before playing a single game. He signed a minor contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021, but returned to Japan in June of that year. He appeared in four games as a substitute for the Chiba Lotte Marines, posting one win. Last year, he went 8-9 with a 3.36 ERA in 20 games and 115 innings pitched.레모나토토

And he was headed to South Korea. SSG double-checked him due to his injury history, but ultimately released him without ever using him.

This year, Romero is playing for Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Republic Winter League. He pitched 4⅓ scoreless innings in his first game on October 19, but has since given up runs in four straight games.

He gave up five runs on eight hits (one home run) in 3⅔ innings, one run on four hits in five innings (his first win), six runs on seven hits in two innings (his first loss), and two runs on four hits (one home run) in five innings (his second win).

As of the 25th, he is 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA in five games and 20 innings pitched.

“Romero has gotten wins, but he’s been giving up runs, including home runs,” said Full Count.

From Kim Min-seok to Jeon Mir, Lotte Giants’ Sajik Idol and fans’ shouts and laughter ‘Sajik Entertainment Hall’

From Kim Min-seok to rookie Jeon Mir, the Lotte Giants’ Sajik idols gathered.

The Lotte Giants held the 2023 Lotte Giants Fan Meeting ‘Sajik Ohakwan’ at Lotte Cinema Busan on the 10th floor of Lotte Department Store on the 25th.

Hosted by cheerleading coach George Hoon, eight players – Shim Jae-min, Lee Jung-hoon, Choi Joon-yong, Jin Seung-hyun, Son Sung-bin, Yoon Dong-hee, Kim Min-seok, and Jeon Mir – attended and had a great time with 270 fans.굿모닝토토 도메인

Coach Kim Tae-hyung made a video greeting, saying, “Welcome to the fan meeting and thank you for your love even before I was confirmed as the coach, and I promise to show you fall baseball next season.”

With the appearance of the players, the fans enjoyed a full-scale resignation entertainment.

Rookie Jeon Mir threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and fans cheered at the ‘Fan PICK 2023 Best Moments’ video selected by fans.

Yoon Dong-hee wanted to change her entrance music, so she asked fans for their suggestions and chose Champion of the Cage.

Kim Min Suk’s dog, Milky, drew cheers from fans when he revealed that he likes to take walks, doesn’t bark, and feels good when he sleeps with him.

Choi Joon Yong’s “Eat sweets without touching” started the “resignation entertainment” with fans, while Son Sung Bin and Yoon Dong Hee’s “Hold a tissue for a long time” was not what they thought it would be.

In the “Call Back Challenge,” Jin Seung Hyun was the first to receive a call from pitching coach Kim Sang Soo, and he roared louder than in the ballpark. Kim Sang-soo thanked the fans over the phone and said, “Next year, we will try to win the championship for the first time in 32 years.” A disappointing second place went to Yoon Dong Hee, who called Han Dong Hee.

In the ‘Song Title Quiz’, Kim Min Suk was confused by a song he didn’t recognize, and in ‘Speak with Your Body’, Kim Min Suk’s full-body performance made fans laugh.

Shim Jae Min and Lee Jung Hoon, who finished last in the resignation quiz, turned fans into photographers by posing for cute pictures with their “life necklace” poses.

The players ended the event by taking a commemorative photo with their fans and signing autographs.

You can check out the video for more details of the ‘Sajik Orakkan’, which lasted more than two hours and was attended by Sajik idols and fans.

3 losses out of 3 Super Matches…Suwon’s last “chance to escape the river” or “the moment of the end of the second part of the crash.”

It’s a ‘last chance’ and a ‘defining moment’ for Suwon Samsung.

Suwon will play FC Seoul in the 32nd round supermatch of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 25 at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Suwon is in 12th place with 29 points (7 wins, 8 draws, 21 losses), while Seoul is in 7th place with 54 points (14 wins, 12 draws, 10 losses).

Suwon is in a tight relegation battle with 11th-place Gangwon FC (30 points) and 10th-place Suwon FC (32 points). All three teams are fighting to stay out of the 12th spot, which is the automatic relegation spot without a relegation playoff (PO).레모나토토 도메인

For last-place Suwon, the match against Seoul is their de facto last chance to avoid 12th place. The Super Match is a clincher because Gangwon and Suwon FC are playing on the same day and at the same time.

If Suwon loses to Seoul and Gangwon defeats Suwon FC, the standings will be as follows: Gangwon (33 points), Suwon FC (32 points), and Suwon (29 points). In the final round, if Suwon wins against Gangwon and Suwon FC loses to Jeju United, both Suwon and Suwon FC will have 32 points.

However, Suwon is at a disadvantage in the ranking system.

After points, the K League ranks teams based on goal differential, not goals scored. Suwon currently has 34 goals, while Suwon FC has 43. With only two games left, there is a gap of nearly 10 goals between the two teams, making it difficult to overturn the standings.

In the end, the best case scenario for Suwon would be for Seoul to win and then Suwon FC to beat Gangwon. In that case, Suwon FC (35 points), Suwon (32 points), and Gangwon (30 points) would be the finalists.

Suwon will need to overcome their biggest rival, Seoul, to achieve their best ‘what if’ scenario.

Suwon have lost both Supermatches against Seoul this season. The first match, played in Sangam, resulted in a 1-3 defeat. The next two matches were played at Suwon’s home ground, where they lost 0-1 to Willian and Illyucheko respectively.

To make matters worse, this is Seoul’s final home game of the season, and it’s already set to be a crowd record celebration.

Seoul has played 18 home games this season, drawing 394,022 fans. The average attendance is a whopping 21,890. If only 5,978 fans attend the game against Suwon, the club will surpass 400,000 paid fans for the first time in K League history.

The record is already in the bag. On the first day of ticket sales for the supermatch, 25,000 tickets were already sold, virtually guaranteeing a total attendance of 400,000. Seoul is looking to break the 400,000 paid attendance mark at home against rival Suwon.

For Suwon, it’s their last chance, and the Super Match could be the final nail in the coffin of a potentially devastating relegation battle.

Chae Eun-sung and Lee Tae-yang, An Chi-hong and Kim Kang-min…Hanwha is preparing for “Time for a Big Leap,” the hero of winter for the second consecutive year

For the second year in a row, the Hanwha Eagles have become the winter hero. Of course, Hanwha’s dream is not to be the winter champion, but the summer and fall champion.

Hanwha was in the driver’s seat as soon as the 2023-2024 offseason opened. The Lotte Giants made a big splash by hiring manager Kim Tae-hyung, but it wasn’t technically a reinforcement. Rather, Lotte lost free agent Ahn Chi-hong to Hanwha.토토사이트

Hanwha, on the other hand, aggressively pursued and signed Ahn Chi-hong as soon as the free agency market opened. Hanwha’s move was so sharp that Lotte had little time or opportunity to mount a proper offense. Ahn Chi-hong is a veteran who will actually bolster Hanwha’s weak batting lineup in right field.

Hanwha also acquired Kim Kang-min in the second round of the draft. This was another smart move. They snagged him in the fourth round, when there was no mandatory roster spot. Hanwha realized that even though Kim will be 42 next year, he still has value as a player. He’s not going to be a full-time starter anyway, and they expect him to bring years of experience and winning DNA to the field and dugout. Kim considered retirement and extending his playing career, but chose the latter. 

In the process, SSG Landers’ response drew criticism from some fans. Hanwha, on the other hand, remained steadfast. A year ago, they signed free agents Chae-Eun-sung and Lee Tae-yang in the free agency market, and this time around, they actually signed two free agents. The addition of Ahn Chi-hong and Kim Kang-min signaled that they are no longer a rebuilding team, but a top-five contender.

Hanwha attempted an extreme rebuild under the previous manager by pushing veterans out the door, and it’s hard to judge the success or failure of that choice based on the past two years, but it had some limitations, and the team eventually started over under Choi Won-ho, and the impact of the additions of Chae Eun-sung and Lee Tae-yang was immediate this year.

As a result, Hanwha has chosen to be realistic by adding veterans again under Son Hyuk and Choi Won-ho. Regardless of the reason or background, the average age and payroll have been adjusted to create a team with strength and experience for the present and future. The possibility of signing the biggest name in free agency, Yang Seok-hwan, is also being discussed directly and indirectly.

Regardless, it’s time to start producing real results, to become a summer and fall winner instead of a winter winner. After years of dominating the top of the rookie draft, Moon Dong-ju is already a homegrown ace. Kim Seo-hyun, Hwang Jun-seo, and others are expected to break out at some point. There’s also the “big card” of Ryu Hyun-jin’s return in the not-too-distant future. The time for a big leap is definitely coming.

The LG Twins won their first title in 29 years. The KIA Tigers have a good enough lineup to go straight to the top of the standings if they get their foreign one-two punch right. Hanwha, whose fans are just as loyal, if not more so, than those two teams, is about to give something back. With a strong winter for the second year in a row, it’s just a matter of making sure they’re ready for spring.

Il Imana completes the posting process on the 28th…”Attention from multiple clubs, 5 years and $85 million forecast”

Japanese pitcher Shota Imanaga, who is trying to make it to Major League Baseball (MLB), is expected to complete the posting process on Aug. 28 (Japan time).레모나토토 주소

“Imanaga, who is trying to make it to the big leagues through the posting system, will complete his posting application by the 28th,” Japanese media outlet Sportichi Annex reported on Thursday.

Imanaga, who made his professional debut in 2016 with the Yokohama DeNA Basestars of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), has pitched in 165 games over eight seasons, compiling a 64-50 record with a 3.18 ERA.

Last season, he went 11-4, including two complete games and a no-hitter, and this season he went 7-4 with a 2.80 ERA in 22 games and 148 innings pitched.

He also earned a spot on the national team, helping Japan win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March. He pitched three innings of one-run relief against South Korea in the first round.

Imanaga, who went overseas on the posting system with the consent of his club after the season, is one of two free agent pitchers, along with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who could land big contracts.

“The Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Boston Red Sox are interested in Imanaga,” according to MLB TradeRumors, which covers the US transfer market, “while the New York Mets, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals could be in the mix. There will be a lot of interest over the next six to seven weeks.”

Imanaga’s contract is expected to total $85 million over five years.

“Next week’s conditions will be presented…I’ll do my best to catch it.” I finally start negotiations with FA’s biggest fish, and I’m willing to renew my contract

The Doosan Bears will be kicking off their house rabbit enforcement project in earnest next week. The goal is simple. To keep both Yang Seok-hwan (32) and Hong Gun-hee (31) in Doosan uniforms next year.

“Both Yang Seok-hwan and Hong Gun-hee are planning to start negotiations in earnest next week,” said a Doosan Bears official at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on March 23.토토사이트

Doosan, whose star first baseman Yang Seok-hwan and pitching coach Hong Gun-hee are both eligible for free agency, is keeping Stovrig busy by focusing on retaining the two players. They have already had one meeting with Yang’s representatives and plan to sit down next week to share their positions. As for Hong Gun-hee, the club has also set a contract size that matches the player’s level.

Yang Seok-hwan and Hong Gun-hee are the two new Class A players on the list of approved free agents for 2024, which was announced by the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) on April 18. The two players, who were announced as free agents in 2024 on Nov. 15, applied to the KBO for approval to exercise their free agency rights and will be evaluated by the market for the first time.

Both Yang Seok-hwan and Hong Geon-hee are now eligible for free agency after reaching career milestones through trades. Yang Seok-hwan is the biggest name in the free agency market.

Yang Seok-hwan moved from LG to Doosan in a 2-for-2 trade in March 2021. For him, the move to Doosan was a stroke of genius. The Bears’ No. 5 first baseman earned the title of “trade bust” in his first season. In 2021, he batted .275 with 28 home runs and 96 RBIs in 133 games, erasing the team’s first base woes and helping them reach the Korean Series for the first time in seven years.

Unlike his first year, last year was a disappointment. His nagging adductor injury flared up early in the season, and even after returning in May, he struggled with the lingering effects, finishing the year with an underwhelming .244 batting average with 20 home runs and 51 RBIs in 107 games.

This year, under new manager Lee Seung-yeop, Yang took over the role of home run hitter for Doosan. He finished fifth in the league in home runs with a devastating .454 on-base percentage with 21 homers, 89 RBIs in 140 games. Yang is a quality right-handed slugger who hit 20 or more home runs (28-20-21) for three straight years, making him a very attractive card for teams in need of first base and center field reinforcements.

Hong previously came to Doosan from KIA in a one-for-one trade for Ryu Ji-hyeok in June 2020. After struggling with his fastball at KIA, he became a top-notch backstop in the league with a strong fastball that became his secondary pitch after the trade.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the trade changed his life. From his professional debut in 2011 to his trade, Hong logged 347 innings over the course of nearly a decade, and in just four seasons with the Doosan organization, he reached 254⅔ innings this year. He started the 2020 season with 68⅔ innings, followed by 74⅓ in 2021, 62 in 2022, and 61⅔ this year, anchoring the Doosan back end. In that span, he has 12 wins, 44 saves, and 39 holds.

Hong served as Lee Seung-ho’s closer this year, giving way to Chung Chul-won at the end of the year, but finished with a 1-5 record, 22 saves, and five holds in 64 games with a 3.06 ERA. Hong also served as Doosan’s pitching coach for the third straight year starting in 2021.

Yang and Hong will be vital resources for Doosan as they look to finish higher than fifth next season. First base and Pil Seung-jo are the positions where Doosan has the least depth, and since the trade, both players have played key roles on and off the field, making their retention essential to the team’s success. The club recognizes the importance of the two players and will make every effort to crack down on house rabbits starting next week.

However, Doosan has recently signed a string of big contracts, including Kim Jae-hwan (11.5 billion won), Jung Soo-bin (5.6 billion won), Heo Kyung-min (8.5 billion won), and Yang Ji (15.2 billion won). Doosan is conscious of its salary cap, so if the market heats up for two players, it can’t invest as much money as it did last year. “We will do our best to get both Yang Seok-hwan and Hong Gun-hee,” said a Doosan official, but he was cautious: “There is a baseline that we have set.”

The manager has also made a request to the club’s front office to keep the two players. Setting a target of at least third place for next season, Lee said, “With the start of the Stobrigue, there are many teams that have strengthened. We have Yang Seok-hwan and Hong Gun-hee who have applied for free agency, and I think both players will stay with Doosan. I expect good negotiations.” He wished for a crackdown on house rabbits.