FA infielder Kim Sun-bin remains the Tigers man after all. According to a report by MK Sports, Kim will stay with the KIA Tigers for three years and 3 billion won. “We have not signed the contract yet. However, since we have all the terms and conditions of our team, we are in a mood to accelerate,” a KIA official said after the report by MK Sports on Jan. 4.
After an exclusive report on MK Sports, Kia officially announced the FA contract with Kim. Kia signed a three-year contract with Kim on Monday for a total of 3 billion won (2,640 U.S. dollars), including 600 million won (622 dollars) in down payment, 1.8 billion won (1.5 million dollars) in annual salary, and 600 million won option. Under the deal, Kim signed his second FA contract with Kia in 2020.
Kim Sun-bin said, “More than anything else, I wanted to stay in KIA. I am grateful to the club for offering me good conditions, and I am happy to continue to hear the cheers of Tigers fans. I will devote myself to sports until the season and help the team to become a consistent strong team. Although I have put down my captaincy, I will do my best to help the team stand at the top of fall baseball with a sense of responsibility as an experienced player.” 온라인카지노
“Kim Sun-bin is an essential player for the team. As a franchise player who has consistently played for the Tigers as a one-club man, I engaged in negotiations thinking that I should catch him no matter what. As he is already a proven player, if he continues as he is now, he will greatly contribute to the team’s strength,” said Shim Jae-hak, Kia’s general manager.
Kia has made staying with its internal FA infielder Kim Sun-bin and outfielder Ko Jong-wook a top priority this winter. On Nov. 21, he signed a two-year contract with Kia for a total of 500 million won (44,940 U.S. dollars), including a down payment of 100 million won (100,000 dollars), an annual salary of 150 million won, and an option of 100 million won. However, the negotiation process for Kim’s remaining in the negotiations has extended considerably. With no deal being reached until the end of the year, some predict that the negotiation table could be settled into a new year.
Kim played in 119 games during the 2023 season, posting a batting average of 0.320/134 hits/48 RBIs/base-plus-slugging percentage of 0.381. Kim, who served as the team’s captain, firmly maintained his position as the starting second baseman, helping his team compete for the top five until the end of the season. After the 2023 season, Kim left his captaincy to his teammate Na Sung-bum.
After the opening of the FA, KIA and Kim Sun-bin exchanged views several times. However, they still could not close the gap easily. Some suggested conditions that the club revised several times. However, it was not an atmosphere that could lead to immediate negotiations. In addition, there were rumors that there were difficulties in the negotiation table, but the two sides still agreed to stay with the Tigers and did their best to negotiate.
A baseball official said, “Talking about differences in positions is a natural picture in the negotiation process. What is important is that the KIA club and Kim Sun-bin are still discussing staying in the team, not the breakdown of negotiations. Kim Sun-bin said, “Didn’t the year go over when we negotiated with the FA four years ago? As a player who has that much affection for the Tigers, I think he will do his best to produce positive results even if it takes a little time.”
KIA also wanted to do its best to stay with Kim Sun-bin. “We are repeating the process of narrowing our opinions with Kim Sun-bin. We will do our best for negotiations as much as we can at a time when it is essential for our team,” a source at Kia said.
Kia suggested Kim Sun-bin’s revised contract terms and conditions when the negotiations were stuck. Since then, tug-of-war has continued over the portion of incentives. According to the MK Sports report, the terms and conditions of the three-year contract (including incentives) were finalized. In the end, Kim decided to stay in Kia after agonizing over the terms and conditions of the contract, in which the portion of the guaranteed amount increased in the new year compared to the beginning of the negotiations. There were also changes in the content of incentives at the end of the negotiations. The portion of incentives is known to be considerable.
Kim, who joined the team in 2008 and has been active as a one-club man, will remain as a Tigers man until the 2026 season. As Kim had a strong affection for the Tigers, he reportedly put his priority on staying in the team even amid longer-than-expected negotiations. Kim, who started to lose weight significantly this winter, is expected to focus on preparing to join the Australian spring camp for the 2024 season after dispelling his agony.