Professional baseball FA Announcement, Contract begins on the 19th
A full-fledged "war of the past" will be held.
KBO announced the list of 2024 free agent (FA) qualified players on the 15th.
A total of 34 people qualified for the FA market this year, including 12 new people, 8 re-qualified people, and 14 remaining eligible. Among them, there were 8 people in A grade, 14 people in B grade, and 12 people in C grade.
By club, SSG has the largest number of six, LG and Samsung have five, Lotte has four, KT, Doosan, KIA and Kiwoom have three, and NC and Hanwha have one each.
FA qualified players must apply to KBO for approval to exercise FA rights by the 17th, within two days of the announcement, and KBO is scheduled to announce FA approved players on the 18th. Ten KBO League clubs and overseas clubs can freely sign contracts from the 19th.
LG, which won the Korean Series for the first time in 29 years, qualified starting pitcher Lim Chan-kyu, bullpen Ham Deok-ju, infielders Kim Min-sung and Seo Geon-chang. Captain Oh Ji-hwan also acquired the FA qualification, but he cannot enter the market in January this year after signing a multi-year contract for a total of 12.4 billion won for a six-year contract period.
KT's closer Kim Jae-yoon, bullpen pitcher Joo Kwon, and veteran infielder Park Kyung-soo were listed on the FA list.
For NC, bullpen pitcher Shim Chang-min will be released with a free body, and for SSG, catchers Lee Jae-won and Kim Min-sik will be released as FA. Veteran pitchers Moon Seung-won and Park Jong-hoon, flagship infielder Choi Jung and outfielder Han Yu-seom were also announced, but all have signed long-term contracts.
Doosan's infielder Yang Seok-hwan and bullpen Hong Kun-hee, who are considered the biggest hitters in the FA this year, will be released. Yang Seok-hwan is expected to be popular in the FA market as a starting first baseman, while Hong Kun-hee is expected to be popular in the FA market as a must-win. Veteran pitcher Jang Won-jun qualified as an FA but announced his retirement.
KIA infielder Kim Sun-bin is on the market. Ko Jong-wook, who has good attack power, is also a target for the FA.
At Lotte, veteran infielder Ahn Chi-hong and outfielder Jeon Joon-woo each qualified for the second FA. Bullpen pitcher Shin Jung-rak was also listed. Korean ace Park Se-woong has signed a multi-year contract with Lotte and does not come to the market.
In Samsung, Oh Seung-hwan, the "final king," will be solved as a free agent. He is at a crossroads over whether to retire or extend the player. In addition, infielder Kang Han-ul, outfielder Kim Heon-gon, and bullpen Kim Dae-woo are also eligible for FA. Koo was tied to a multi-year contract.
Veteran starter Jang Min-jae of Hanwha, veteran bullpen Lim Chang-min and outfielder Lee Yong-kyu of Kiwoom acquired FA qualifications.
If 11 to 20 players exercise their FA rights in the FA market this year, there are two external FA players that can be recruited per club. If there are 21 to 30 players, each team can sign with three external FA players.
Clubs that have recruited A-level players as external FA must compensate 200% of the previous year's salary and one player in addition to 20 protected players, or 300% of the previous year's salary to their original clubs. Grade B player compensation is 100% of the previous year's salary and one player other than 25 protected players or 200% of the previous year's salary, and grade C is 150% of the previous year's salary.