22 players nominated in the 2nd round of professional baseball draft,
Oh Seon-jin of Hanwha transferred to Lotte,
LG-NC-SSG lost 4 players each, so
no club nominated Lotte players
Infielder Choi Joo-hwan (35), who hit 20 home runs while playing for SSG this year, is transferring to Kiwoom. SSG franchise player Kim Kang-min (41) also moves to Hanwha. This is through the second round of professional baseball draft, which was reintroduced after four years.
In the second draft held by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on the 22nd, a total of 22 players were nominated and changed their uniforms. Many veteran players, such as Choi Joo-hwan and Kim Kang-min, were also included. The fact that they were selected in the second draft means that their original clubs did not include them in the list of 35 protected players.
oohwan Choi
Kiwoom, who obtained the first pick in the first round according to the reverse order of rankings in this year's regular season, called Choi Joo-hwan's name. Choi Joo-hwan, who made his professional debut at Doosan in 2006, wore the SK (now SSG) uniform for 4 years and 4.2 billion won as a free agent (FA) at the end of 2020. He faltered with 9 home runs last season, but made a comeback this year by hitting 20 home runs. He has a career batting average of 0.279 and 115 home runs. The Kiwoom club explained the reason for naming him first overall, saying, “He is a versatile player who can fill in the shortcomings of our team.”
Kangmin Kim
Kim Kang-min, who had played for only one team for 22 years since joining SK in 2002 until this year, was selected in the 4th round by Hanwha, making him wear a different team's uniform for the first time since his debut. Kim Kang-min is a veteran who contributed to winning the Korean Series five times while signing two free agent contracts with SK alone. SSG did not expect that Kim Kang-min, who turns 42 next year, would be selected in this draft. SSG had offered a coach position to Kim Kang-min. Hanwha General Manager Son Hyuk said, “He is a player I have admired very much since I coached at SK. “He is old, but I think he will be able to show off his skills well,” he said.
Seonjin Oh
Samsung's veteran sidearm pitcher Woo Gyu-min (38) was selected by KT in the first round. Woo Gyu-min, who debuted at LG in 2004 and played for Samsung since 2017, changed teams after seven years. He pitched in 56 games this year, leaving a record of 3 wins, 1 loss, 13 holds, and an earned run average of 4.81. KT lost closing pitcher Kim Jae-yoon (33), who qualified as a free agent at the end of this season, to Samsung. KT coach Lee Kang-cheol asked the club to select Woo Gyu-min in the first round if he was not included in the list of protected players when Kim Jae-yoon left and the team was left without a senior pitcher. Oh Seon-jin (34), a 16-year infielder who signed a free agent contract with his home team Hanwha at the end of last year, was selected by Lotte in the second round.
In the second draft market, which was reopened after four years, the reason many veterans with a sense of accomplishment immediately transferred, unlike in the past, is largely due to the salary cap (cap on total annual salary for each club) introduced this year. The salary cap for this year and next year is 11,426.38 million won per team. If you exceed this limit, you will be subject to disadvantages such as sanctions or loss of nomination rights. For a club that is in the process of rebuilding or has large-scale investment plans in the future, it was difficult to place veterans who received relatively high salaries on the list of protected players. The decrease in the number of protected players for each club from 40 in the second draft four years ago to 35 also had an impact. By club, SSG, which was trying to improve its team structure, LG, the winner of this year's Korean Series, and NC, which advanced to the playoffs, each lost four of their players. On the other hand, no club nominated a Lotte player. 카지노사이트존