“I couldn’t see the end of the wait.”
This is what Jeong Chan-heon (33, Kiwoom Heroes) said while looking back on the past five months in the free agent market. Jeong Chan-heon spent time wandering without finding a team after he obtained FA qualification in November of last year. The original team, Kiwoom, was completely ignoring Jeong Chan-heon during that period. He signed a contract with another free agent pitcher Won Jong-hyun for 4 years and 2.5 billion won, and joined hands with Lim Chang-min and Byeon Si-won, who were looking for a new team after the release, but did not even pay attention to Jeong Chan-heon.
Kiwoom then suddenly contacted Jeong Chan-heon on the 26th. On this day, Kiwoom actually conveyed its intention to sign a free agent contract for the first time in detail. Rather, it was Jung Chan-heon who was in a hurry. I couldn’t even spend the spring camp properly without my team, and since the beginning of March, I had been building my body with difficulty at Seongnam Magpies, an independent league team.
The contract went smoothly. On the 27th, Kiwoom announced that it had signed an FA contract with Jeong Chan-heon for a total of 860 million won, including a contract period of 2 years, a down payment of 200 million won, an annual salary of 200 million won, and an option of up to 260 million won. Last year, he had 5 wins and 6 losses in 29 games, 87⅓ innings, and an average ERA of 5.36, and considering that it was a crisis of missing FA, it was a pretty high amount.
Kiwoom emphasized the fact that the club treated him well, going so far as to specify the amount requested by Chan-Heon Jeong. The club said, ‘Jung Chan-heon requested a down payment of 150 million won, an annual salary of 100 million won, and an option of up to 100 million won (a total of 450 million won) for two years of the contract period. However, the club evaluated Jeong Chan-heon’s value as a player and signed a contract for a total of 860 million won, including a down payment of 200 million won, an annual salary of 200 million won, and an option up to 260 million won for a contract period of 2 years, which is larger than the amount offered by the player. did. 스포츠토토
On the surface, Jeong Chan-heon would have been a more urgent contract, but it can be seen that Kiwoom’s circumstances were not very different. Kiwoom stayed in ninth place with a team ERA of 4.58 in 13 demonstration games. Team walks were 64, which was overwhelmingly first among 10 clubs. It was a situation where one could feel the need for at least one more stable veteran card.
Still, Jeong Chan-heon said, “It’s good to be certain that the club’s people are in a business relationship in a way, and the general manager said he was sorry on the one hand. Still, he said that he chose this on our side because it was in the direction the team needed and wanted. That direction I think it will be fine if it fits well. He told me to go in a good direction, “he said, saying he understood the club’s move.
Head coach Ko Hyeong-wook also said, “I think Chan-heon Jeong must have gone through the most difficult time in his life. I hope that Chan-heon Jeong will use this time as a foundation to help the team, club, and fans along the way they want to go together.” I forgot about it and looked forward and ran to it.