LG Twins and Oh Ji-hwan signed a non-FA multi-year contract. Oh Ji-hwan, who had previously signed an FA contract, signed a six-year maximum of 12.4 billion won with LG ahead of the second FA. The LG club succeeded in catching Oh Ji-hwan, the "franchise star," ahead of declaring the FA by giving him the best treatment. I was able to save the player's pride and make the next plan with relief from the club.
During the season, Kiwoom Heroes and Lee Won-seok signed a surprise multi-year contract. Kiwoom brought in Lee Won-seok in a trade with the Samsung Lions at the beginning of the season. And in June, he signed a multi-year contract with Lee Won-seok for up to 1 billion won in 2+1 years. It was quite an unconventional proposal considering his late 30s, but Lee Won-seok said, "Thank you for allowing me to play baseball comfortably."
Since then, several players have been mentioned as candidates for multi-year contracts. Catcher Kim Tae-gun, who transferred to KIA Tigers through a trade, is also said to start negotiations on a non-FA multi-year contract with KIA, but nothing much has progressed so far. Kim Tae-gun will qualify for the FA at the end of the season, and if he does not sign a multi-year contract before then, he is expected to have to discuss contracts with clubs who want to recruit him, including KIA, as an FA.
In addition, some of the players who were about to qualify for the FA were willing to sign a multi-year contract, but there were cases where it was impossible to even start negotiations because they had different thoughts from the club. It was said that Choi Hyung-woo might also sign a multi-year contract in advance ahead of the FA, but as he was out of the season due to injury, the contract issue seems to have been pushed to the lower ranks.
Players and clubs' eyes on non-FA multi-year contracts are flowing to 'same dream'. This contract has the advantage of creating a sense of stability as players also sign long-term contracts ahead of the FA declaration, and the club also reduces the burden on the stove league by securing essential players in advance without unnecessary consumption and scramble.
Therefore, players who have grown into key players in each club, including Koo Ja-wook (Samsung), Koo Chang-mo (NC), Han Yu-somun Moon Seung-won (SSG) and Park Se-woong (Lotte), signed non-FA multi-year contracts as they have a good interest in each other. Most have signed long-term contracts for five to six years.
However, clubs have recently become more cautious about signing multi-year contracts. In particular, as players who signed multi-year contracts earlier often suffer ups and downs due to injuries or sluggishness, other clubs are also looking at multi-year contracts with a more cautious attitude. This is why the negotiation table is not easily set up.
This season is not expected to be as hot as last year as well as multi-year contracts. Since the introduction of the salary cap, the current atmosphere of clubs is that "Let's use it carefully even if we use it."
