Will Hanwha Eagles infielder Ha Joo-seok (30) hit the free agent market?
The KBO, which concluded with Kia’s Korean Series championship last month, will be busy in the free agent market with the WBSC Premier12 international tournament. The KBO will soon announce free agent eligibility, and within two days, the players who have exercised their rights will be announced as free agents. They will be available for contract negotiations with all clubs the day after they are cleared.
Hanwha, which is expected to make a big free agent move this winter, is keeping a close eye on the decision of its only internal free agent, Ha Joo-seok. Hanwha has a history of signing internal free agents. It has re-signed 29 of its 31 internal free agents, with the exception of Cha Myung-joo in 2006 and Choi Young-pil and Lee Do-hyung in 2011, who were unable to sign with any team. The only two internal free agents to be snatched up by other teams were Lee Sang-mok in 2004 (to Lotte) and Lee Bum-ho in 2011 (to KIA).
In the meantime, Hanwha’s organization is expected to retain Ha Joo-seok. Shortstop remains one of Hanwha’s weakest positions. Lee Do-yoon, who has been the starting shortstop this season, has played 134 games (336 at-bats, 93 hits) with a .665 OPS with one home run and 46 RBIs, and while his defense has been solid, he hasn’t shown a clear advantage over other shortstops. Rookies Bae Seung-soo and Lee Ji-sung have been added to the shortstop rotation, but it’s unclear if they’ll be effective immediately. Hanwha also needs Ha Joo-seok.
Hanwha’s opening day shortstop this year was also Ha Joo-seok.
In the first 11 games of the season, he went 3-for-4 (11-for-34) with three RBI and a .773 OPS. He was 4-for-9 (3-for-7) with three RBIs in the sixth through seventh spots in the batting order. Ha had a stake in Hanwha’s surprise run to first place, going 8-2 in its opening 10 games.
However, on April 5, he felt pain in his left hamstring while attempting to steal second base against Gochuk Kiwoom and was replaced. A medical examination revealed a suspected hamstring tear, and when his condition didn’t improve, he traveled to Iijima, Japan, for treatment. 파워볼사이트 He was sidelined for nearly two months, and after returning in June, he was unable to find his early season form. He improved his hitting in late July and early August, but on Aug. 6, he was sent to the bench after making one or two consecutive errors against Samsung Electronics in Daegu. His defense showed signs of insecurity and he was replaced by Lee Do-yoon.
Ha Joo-seok, a former top prospect who was selected by Hanwha with the first overall pick in the 2012 rookie draft, has been the starting shortstop since 2016 after completing his military service with the Sangmu. He was an integral part of Hanwha’s offense until 2022. He was so important to the team that he served as captain from late 2021 to 2022, but his career took a sharp turn downward. In November 2022, he was suspended for 70 games for a drunk driving offense and missed half of the 2023 season.
He batted just 1-for-25 (.114) in 25 games last year as he struggled to find his groove.
This year, he had another injury-plagued season. In 64 games, he batted .292 (40-for-137) with one home run, 11 RBIs, and a .743 OPS, but his ups and downs and poor defense prevented him from earning a guaranteed playing time.
If he’s looking for a change of scenery, he can file for free agency and look to move to another team. The key is your free agent classification. If it’s a C, as you’d expect, you won’t have a compensating player and you’ll have more room to maneuver, but it could also be a B. If you’re a B-grade player, you’ll have to use a compensatory player outside of the 25-man roster, making it harder to transfer.
Introduced after the 2020 season, the KBO League’s free agent classification system is based on the average salary of non-free agents, including options, over the last three years. A is categorized into 1-3 within a team and 1-330 overall, B is 4-10 within a team and 31-60 overall, and C is 11th or lower within a team and 61st or lower overall. Hajusuk’s salary has been cut significantly in the last two years, but he’s still in the top 10 of Hanwha’s non-free agent players. If he is in the 60th percentile of the overall salary ranking, he can be categorized as a B player.
If he’s in the 60th percentile of the overall salary rankings, he could be considered a C player.
He”s still young, in his early 30s, and has played 875 games in 12 seasons in the first team. He also has three seasons of double-digit home runs, so you can expect him to bounce back as a long-hitting shortstop. However, with a B grade, other teams will have to take on the burden of bleeding players outside the 25-man roster. In this case, the team could opt for a one-year extension instead of filing for free agency. Even if he does file for free agency, Hanwha will take the lead in negotiations.