KT Wiz belongs to the underdog in the FA market. Unlike other clubs, they do not spend a lot of money to recruit big-fish free agents. But speed is everything.
Players in the positions that are essential to the team are recruited and used at an appropriate amount. 메이저놀이터
From 2015, when KT entered the first team, to the 2023 season, there are only 7 external free agents brought in for 9 years, including Kim Sang-soo this time. In 2015, the first year, Kim Sa-yul (3+1 years, 1.45 billion won), Park Ki-hyeok (3+1 years, 1.14 billion won) and Park Kyung-soo (4 years, 1.82 billion won) were recruited. brought in billions of dollars. In 2018, Hwang Jae-gyun, who made a U-turn to Korea from the San Francisco Giants, was recruited for 4 years at 8.4 billion won, the highest ransom for the KT club. KT, which focused only on internal free agents for the next three years and did not turn its attention to external free agents, recruited Park Byung-ho last year for up to 3 billion won over three years. Park Byeong-ho was chosen to fill the void left by veteran Yuhan-Jun’s retirement. Although Park Byeong-ho showed a sluggish performance for two years and was called an aging curve, KT boldly recruited him, and Park Byeong-ho hit 35 home runs and became the home run king, proving that KT’s choice was right.
And KT brought Kim Sang-soo in preparation for the 2023 season. 2.9 billion won over four years. It’s not a huge amount compared to the same infielder Noh Jin-hyuk wearing a Lotte Giants uniform for 4 years at 5 billion won. KT explored the free agent market to fill the void created by starting shortstop Shim Woo-jun’s enlistment in the military, and chose Kim Sang-soo, who can play shortstop and second base and is good at running base. KT plans to appoint Kim Sang-soo as the shortstop in Shim Woo-jun’s position.
Kim Sang-soo, who played as the starting shortstop when the Samsung Lions won the regular season championship for five consecutive years, recently played as a second baseman. This is the season to prove whether Kim Sang-soo is still a stable shortstop.
Can Kim Sang-soo rebuild his pride and become a cost-effective FA that shows high productivity against cost? Again, I wonder if KT’s eyes will show that they are accurate.