The atmosphere is that a multi-year contract rush to preemptively tie up aces in their 20s ahead of FA is beginning. Now, people are interested in who will be the next latecomer.

On the 17th, NC announced the signing of a non-FA multi-year contract with local ace Koo Chang-mo (25). The size of the contract is divided into two situations. 

The club explained, “Considering the fact that the period of obtaining FA qualification for Koo Chang-mo varies depending on the performance of international competitions in 2023, we divided it into two cases.” In 2023, WBC (World Baseball Classic) and Hangzhou Asian Games will be held. Koo Chang-mo is by far the number one pitcher for the national team at this point. 

If the FA qualification is acquired after the end of the 2024 season with the national team call and performance, the contract period is 6 years from 2023 to 2028, an annual salary of 9 billion won, and an incentive of 3.5 billion won, totaling 12.5 billion won. If FA qualification is not obtained after the end of the 2024 season, the contract period is 6+1 years from 2023 to 2029, and the maximum amount is 13.2 billion won, including incentives and the execution of the 7th year contract, in addition to the guaranteed annual salary of 8.8 billion won for 6 years. 

In addition, since the military service has not yet been resolved, a clause is included to extend the contract period by the corresponding period when enlisting in the military.

He is an old man who needs to go through three more seasons to obtain FA qualification. However, if you fill the international competition points with the national team call and grades this year, you can become a free agent after two seasons. Nevertheless, the unconventional reason is that he signed a multi-year contract with more than two years left in free agency for the first time.

Park Jong-hoon, Moon Seung-won, Han Yu-seom (SSG), Koo Ja-wook (Samsung), who signed multi-year contracts last year, and Park Se-woong (Lotte), who signed a 5-year, 9 billion won contract last November, all had only one season left until FA qualification. However, NC took a preemptive measure on Gu Chang-mo, the league’s top ace, ‘if he is healthy’ and was able to hold him until 2029. 

In addition, following Park Se-woong (27), there was a case where a native ace in his 20s signed a non-FA multi-year contract. Park Jong-hoon and Moon Seung-won both signed multi-year contracts when they were in their 30s. Park Se-woong and Koo Chang-mo are in charge of the local aces who have been leading the team’s starting lineup since their early 20s. 

It is basic to want them to stay on the team for a little longer. And a native starting pitcher reached out early and signed a multi-year contract, considering the precious league environment. Since Park Se-woong and Koo Chang-mo are both native starting pitchers who have shown top-notch performances in the league, if competition in the free agency market is inevitable, the amount will rise infinitely, and there is no guarantee that they will remain. 

As seen in the case of Park Se-woong and Koo Chang-mo, while choosing a strategy to tie up native aces in advance, attention is also focused on the future moves of other native aces in their 20s within the league. 

Although starting pitchers are rare, there is an increasing number of native aces in their 20s, and they are becoming the center of the team. Gaining full-time experience early can speed up their release to the market.  토토

Samsung Won Tae-in (22), KT So-Jun Sohn (21), KIA Eui-ri Lee (20), and Hanwha Kim Min-woo (27) are the starting pitchers in their 20s who have been consistently playing the starting rotation in the league for the past few years. It is not yet time to pay attention to FA, but the possibility of choosing a multi-year contract cannot be ruled out depending on the club’s strategic choice and situation. 

Samsung Won Tae-in has pitched more than 25 games and more than 100 innings for four consecutive years since his rookie season. It has recorded double-digit wins for the last two seasons in a row. Eui-ri Lee also played in the starting rotation for two consecutive years and filled the 10th win and regular innings (154 innings) this year. Joon Sohn also took charge of the starting lineup for three consecutive years and recorded two 13-win seasons, and is running on a solid road. Kim Min-woo, the ace of the lowest-ranking Hanwha, has also overcome injuries and has been steadily active as a starter for the last three seasons.