Han Hyeon-hee (29), a free agent (FA) grade A, made a new nest after a long struggle. Heading to his hometown, Busan.
The Lotte Giants team announced on the 17th, “We signed a contract with Han Hyun-hee for a total of 4 billion won, including a down payment of 300 million won and an annual salary of up to 3.7 billion won for a contract period of 3+1 years.” The guaranteed annual salary is 1.5 billion won. 메이저사이트
Han Hyun-hee is the only A-class pitcher in the FA market this time. He has just entered his 30s, and it seems that his prime skills will continue for the time being. Although he has only been active as a starting pitcher lately, he can play both as a starter and as a reliever. His career record was 65 wins, 43 losses, 8 saves and 105 holds in 416 appearances. No matter which team he joins right away, he has enough skills to start as a starter.
Even when the FA market opened, attention was focused on which team he would wear. Looking at his skills alone, he stands out the most in this free agent market. However, he failed to find a new team to pass the year in apathy. The process of finding his team was very difficult, and the terms of his contract fell far short of expectations.
Due to the salary cap (the upper limit on the amount paid to players), which is applied from this year, it was difficult for some clubs to make bold investments. In addition, Han Hyun-hee was followed by negative evaluations of ‘work ethic’. In 2021, the season was out due to a violation of the Corona 19 quarantine rules. Last year, Kiwoom Heroes went through the semi-playoff (PO)-PO and reached the Korean Series (KS) stage, but Han Hyun-hee of Kiwoom was eliminated from the PO and KS entries. The club put forward the reason that Han Hyun-hee was weak in the opponent’s record, but even in a situation where reinforcing the mound was necessary, they made a choice to remove Han Hyun-hee, raising doubts.
Kiwoom, the original team, was not very interested in Han Hyun-hee’s stay from the beginning. Previously, bullpen pitcher Won Jong-hyeon (4 years, total of 2.5 billion won) and Futures (2nd division) league FA outfielder Lee Hyeong-jong (4 years, total of 2 billion won) were recruited from outside, and they virtually withdrew from the market.
Lotte, who reached out to Han Hyun-hee, prepared a safety device. The guaranteed salary is less than half of the total salary. If Han Hyun-hee achieves the individual performance set by the club during the first three seasons, he has the right to opt out in 2026. The Lotte club said, “We signed a reasonable contract to provide motivation to the players through a high proportion of the option amount within the contract period and to secure starting pitchers who will play an active role in the mid- to long-term.”
Han Hyeon-hee, who graduated from Gyeongnam Middle School and Gyeongnam High School, is heading to her hometown of Busan with this contract. Han Hyun-hee said, “I am grateful to the Lotte club for trusting me and giving me a good suggestion. I am personally happy to play baseball in my hometown of Busan. I am even more excited to be supported by passionate Lotte fans.”
Lotte said, “Han Hyun-hee’s control and movement are all resources that have been active as a starting pitcher and bullpen pitcher. After the end of last season, he lost 9kg. In addition, he showed a different appearance after marriage and has high expectations. We expect it to strengthen,” he said.
Han Hyun-hee said, “I will do my best to make the team achieve good results by working hard as much as Lotte trusted me.”
On the other hand, there are four non-contracted free agents: Jeong Chan-heon (former Kiwoom), Kwon Hee-dong and Lee Myung-gi (former NC Dinos), and Kang Ri-ho (renamed Kang Yoon-gu, former Lotte).