Will SSG Landers be able to hold on to internal free agent catcher Kim Min-sik?
Will SSG Landers be able to hold on to internal free agent catcher Kim Min-sik (34)?
SSG has said they will try to get Kim Min-sik, who is eligible for free agency after the season. The club’s policy is that they need Min-sik. Veteran catcher Lee Jae-won left, and Kim Min-sik became a free agent. The team acquired NC Park Dae-on and KIA Shin Beom-soo through the secondary draft, but they are not in a position to entrust them with the starting job.
Third-year player Cho Hyung-woo, who was playing as a backup, has grown a lot. In November, he also trained hard at the final camp in Kagoshima, Japan. He is a catcher to look forward to next season. But we need Kim Min-sik.
Kim Min-sik has gotten the message. However, the contract terms have been a stumbling block. It was due to the salary cap. However, they have some room. Through the second draft, infielder Choi Joo-hwan was selected by Kiwoom Heroes. And Choo Shin-soo decided to play one more year at the minimum salary (30 million won) and then retire.
Shin-soo Choo said, “During the off-season, I thought about it a lot with my family. Every time I did, I saw SSG, the fans’ support, and the junior players in front of me. I felt that I loved baseball and the team, so I thought about my future with the club. Both the club and the new manager needed me and respected my opinion. Next year, my performance is important, but depending on the team situation, I would like to contribute to the team by training with the junior players in the Future Team and sharing my experiences and thoughts.”
While discussing his future with the team, Choo informed the team of his decision to retire after the 2024 season
As well as his intention to sign a minimum salary contract and donate his entire salary to the team. Suddenly, SSG has some breathing room.
On Tuesday, the KBO announced the combined salaries of the top 40 players by club in 2023.
The KBO introduced a salary cap system to be implemented in 2023 to level the league’s power and continue its development, and the salary cap was set at 11.4268 billion won, or 120% of the average annual salary of each club’s top 40 players (excluding foreign players and rookies) in 2021-2022, based on the sum of their salaries, option payments, and average annual free agent contracts.
SSG had a salary cap of 10.846 billion won (94.9 percent exhaustion rate), leaving only 579.91 million won to spare. This year, Choi Joo-hwan, who earned 650 million won per year, left for Kiwoom, and Choo Shin-soo, who earned 1.7 billion won per year, decided to take the lowest salary, leaving some room for next year’s salary cap. 온라인카지노 Free agent negotiations for Kim Min-sik will also be easier.
After graduating from Masan High School and Wonkwang University, Kim entered the professional scene in 2012 after being drafted by SK, the predecessor of SSG. He was traded to KIA, where he became the catcher for the 2017 Korean Series championship, before returning to SSG via trade and becoming a member of the team that won the 2022 title. He is an experienced veteran.
He has a good catcher’s lead and strong shoulders.
However, clubs are wary of overpaying. It remains to be seen what Kim Min-sik will decide and how much SSG will open their wallet.
In the meantime, if you sign a player over the salary cap, you will have to pay 50% of the overpayment as a sanction for the first time. For the second time in a row, the team must pay 100% of the overage as a penalty and drop nine spots to the next year’s first-round pick. For the third consecutive time, you must pay a fine equal to 150% of the excess, and your first-round pick for the following year will be reduced by 9 levels.