The Doosan Bears have held a second round of negotiations with Hong Gun-hee.
Doosan met with Hong’s agent on Wednesday afternoon.
Hong, 32, came to Doosan from the KIA Tigers in a one-for-one trade for Ryu Ji-hyuk in June 2020.
He throws a fastball that reaches 150 kilometers per hour, but his inconsistent delivery has prevented him from establishing himself in the first team. The Doosan coaching staff, including then-manager Kim Tae-hyung, told him, “You have a good fastball, so don’t worry about your delivery and throw it confidently,” and he gained confidence and became a key member of the team’s bullpen.
In his first year, he went 3-4 with a 4.98 ERA in 60 games with eight saves, and the following year, he appeared in 65 games and threw 74⅓ innings with a 6-6 record, three saves, and a 2.78 ERA in 17 appearances.
In 2022, he appeared in 58 games and threw 62 innings to finish with 18 saves and nine shutouts, and last year he went 22-6 with five saves and a 3.06 ERA in 64 games (61⅔ innings).
He was highly regarded for his durability, as he can consistently go 60+ innings, and for his leadership, as he has been the pitching coach since 2021.
In his first meeting with Doosan late last year, the club did not offer a specific amount.
At the time, there was a big difference between what Hong’s agent was asking for and what Doosan had set internally. They ended the meeting by waiting to see the market situation.
At the time, a Doosan official said, “We did not offer a specific amount in the first meeting with the agent. We are currently under a tight salary cap, so it may be difficult to sign a contract if we go over the limit.”
After the first round of negotiations, Hong switched agents. Her previous agent was having internal problems and was not prepared for the negotiations.
Other pitchers on the market were also signed. 온라인카지노 Kim Jae-yoon, who was considered the “biggest name in the bullpen,” signed a four-year contract totaling 5.8 billion won (2 billion won in down payment, 2.8 billion won in total salary, and 1 billion won in incentives) with the Samsung Lions, while left-handed bullpen man Ham Deok-ju signed a four-year contract totaling 3.8 billion won (6 billion won in down payment, 1.4 billion won in salary, and 1.8 billion won in incentives) with the LG Twins. Starting pitcher Lim Chan-kyu also remained with his original team, LG, for a total of 5 billion won ($600 million down payment, $2 billion annual salary, and $2.4 billion in incentives) over four years.
This is Doosan’s first negotiation with a replaced agent.
Hong Gun-hee is an A-rated free agent. When signing an A-rated player, the original club must pay 300% of the previous year’s salary or 200% of the previous year’s salary and one player outside of the 20 protected players. While he could certainly add to the team’s bullpen, he’s not exactly a bleeding heart.
Doosan’s outlook is likely to remain largely unchanged. Before last season, they signed Yang Ji-won to a massive 4+2 year contract totaling 15.2 billion won, and after the season, they signed Yang Seok-hwan (4+2 years, up to 7.8 billion won). In addition to this, the team has been signing big free agents recently, so there is no room in the salary cap. Although Doosan has stated that it is “unrelated to the salary cap,” it is expected that it will be a process of passing on internal pricing rather than negotiating room.