The Lotte Giants, who have been spectators of the postseason for 5 consecutive years, are making bold investments this winter in a ‘win-now’ mode. In the free agency market, 17 billion won was poured into recruiting three players.
Lotte has reached the maximum number of outside free agents (three), but can sign one more free agent. Free agent Kang Ri-ho (renamed from Kang Yun-goo) in the team is still unsigned. Will Lotte sign a contract with Kang Ri-ho?
Lotte recruited catcher Yoo Kang-nam for 8 billion won in 4 years in November last year after the FA market opened. He then signed a contract for Noh Jin-hyeok, who can play shortstop and third base, for 4 years and 5 billion won.
Lotte, which seemed to be no longer interested in outside free agents, announced a free agent contract with pitcher Han Hyun-hee on the 17th for up to 4 billion won in 3+1 years.
Han Hyun-hee, who was slow in negotiations with Kiwoom, was able to reach a contract agreement with options and opt-out clauses, although the amount of guarantee was low. A total of 1.8 billion won is guaranteed, including a down payment of 300 million won and an annual salary of 1.5 billion won between 2023 and 2025. Including options in the final year of the contract, the total annual salary can be up to 3.7 billion won. If all options are satisfied, the total amount will be 4 billion won.
Lotte solved the problem of the main catcher after Kang Min-ho (Samsung) left, and also reinforced the weak position shortstop. Yoo Kang-nam is young at 31 years old, and was responsible for 1008⅓ innings last year wearing a catcher mask. He showed durability by throwing more than 950 innings in the last 5 consecutive seasons. He is also good at pitching lead and framing.
Noh Jin-hyeok is an infielder with both offense and defense. In 115 games last year, he recorded a batting average of 2.8 (111 hits in 396 bats), 15 homers, 75 RBIs, and an OPS of .808. In the 2020 season, he passed 20 home runs for the first time since his debut, and out of the last 5 seasons, 4 of the last 5 seasons have double-digit home runs in 4 seasons, except for 2021.
Han Hyun-hee has been somewhat sluggish over the past two years, but has a lot of experience in both the starting and bullpen. Han Hyun-hee, who won the hold king in the 2013 and 2014 seasons, underwent elbow surgery after the 2015 season. After his rehabilitation, 온라인카지노 he mainly played as a starting pitcher.
Han Hyun-hee recorded a good grade with an average ERA of 3.79 in 14 games in the first half of the 2021 season, 5 wins and 2 losses.
In 21 games (77⅔ innings) last year, he recorded a mediocre performance of 6 wins and 4 losses with an earned run average of 4.75. He came to the free agency market, but he did not receive active attention from other clubs, let alone Kiwoom. He was invincible for nearly two months, but Lotte suddenly offered a contract to reinforce the depth of the pitching staff.
As of the 18th, Kang Ri-ho, Jung Chan-heon, Lee Myung-gi, and Kwon Hee-dong remain as free agents. Lotte can additionally sign a contract with Kang Ri-ho, who played for Lotte last year.
Kang Ri-ho was traded to Lotte during the 2021 season after passing through Heroes-NC. He pitched in 29 games last year and posted an earned run average of 5.48 with no wins or losses. In the Lotte pitching staff, there is not a single left-handed bullpen who played in the first team last year. Left-handed bullpen Kim Yoo-young left for LG as a reward for Yoo Kang-nam.
Lotte recruited veteran pitchers Cha Woo-chan, Kim Sang-soo, Yoon Myung-jun, and Shin Jeong-rak, who were released from other teams after the season. Left-hander Cha Woo-chan pitched 2 games (2.2 innings) in the 2nd team to rehabilitate after shoulder surgery last year. To reinforce the left-handed bullpen, Kang Ri-ho (last year’s annual salary of 73 million won) could be signed as a free agent. The more pitchers, the better.