It was the mound that propelled the LG Twins to their first combined regular-season and Korean Series title in 29 years, but this year’s team may be without the domestic ace, left-handed bullpen, and dominant closer that led them to the title. This is a big deal for LG, which hopes to build an “LG dynasty” by winning back-to-back titles for the first time.
The KBO announced its 2024 free agent class on Friday. A total of 34 players were confirmed to be eligible for free agency, including 12 first-time free agents, eight re-qualified players, and 14 players who are eligible for free agency and have not applied.
By classification, there are 8 Grade A players, 14 Grade B players, and 12 Grade C players. FA-eligible players must apply to the KBO for approval to exercise their FA rights by November 17, two days after the announcement, and the KBO will announce the players who applied for FA on the 18th as approved players. From the 19th, the day after the announcement, 바카라사이트 all clubs, including overseas, will be able to negotiate with free agents for contracts.
In LG, five players,
Including Im Chan-gyu, Ham Deok-ju, Kim Min-sung, Seo Geon-chang, and Oh Ji-hwan, were announced as free agents. Of these, four players are eligible to apply for free agency as they signed non-free agent multi-year contracts after the end of last season.
Lim Chan-kyu was eligible for free agency after last season but did not apply, so he opted for a ‘free agent jinx’ and it worked. After winning just six games last year, he reached a career-high 14 wins this year, ranking third in wins overall, and played a big role in the championship as a stabilizing force in LG’s starting pitching staff, which was lacking in domestic starters. He is one of the most sought-after pitchers in the free agent market this offseason.
Ham Deok-ju is another pitcher who has been receiving interest from teams. After being traded to LG, he was sidelined for two years due to injury, but this season he made a spectacular comeback. He appeared in 57 games, posting a 4-4 record with 16 saves and a 1.62 ERA. He also took over the closer’s role when Ko went down with an injury. With the lack of good left-handed bullpens in the free agent market, Ham’s bounce-back year should make him a priority for teams in need of bullpen reinforcements. In particular, many teams were interested in him because he is considered a C-grade player without compensation, but he is actually a B-grade player, which may limit his transfer. However, he is a pitcher who can also close, so he is definitely an attractive pitcher for teams that need to strengthen their bullpen.
In the case of Kim Min-seong,
Who became the second free agent, and Seo Geon-chang, who is a ‘free agent triple-threat’, it is not easy to transfer them because they are B-grade players who need to be compensated even if they apply for free agency.
LG thought it would only need to secure Im Chan-gyu and Ham Deok-joo, but on the 15th, the Major League Baseball suddenly requested an identity check on Go Woo-seok, creating a new crisis for LG.
Go Woo-seok has completed seven years of registration this year and can go overseas by posting with the consent of the club. He will become a free agent after next season. LG hadn’t talked to him about posting, so they hadn’t thought about posting, only about his free agency next season. However, when a major league team did a background check on him, it became known that they were interested in him.
LG said it would listen to his thoughts first. If he wants to go overseas through this post, the club will have to decide whether to allow him to do so or let him play until next year.
All three pitchers have played important roles for LG, so the loss of their talent would be significant. LG needs to protect its current pitching staff before trying to strengthen it.