It was completed after three years of contracting for the championship, and the left-hander bullpen FA, which is on its honeymoon, is waiting for a big hit. While curious about the FA move of the LG Twins, who won the unified title for the first time in 29 years, Ham Deok-ju (28) is likely to announce the contract first.
At LG, Lim Chan-kyu, Ham Deok-ju, Kim Min-sung, and Oh Ji-hwan are listed in the FA market. Among them, Oh has agreed to a multi-year contract for six years starting from next season. Lim Chan-gyu, Ham Deok-ju, and Kim Min-sung are the actual FA. LG is negotiating with a policy of catching all three. 토토사이트
“I also talked with Ham Deok-ju’s agent at the wedding,” LG’s general manager Cha Myung-seok said. “We have reached some consensus. We have to talk with the player as well, so we decided to wait.” This means that negotiations with Ham Deok-ju are going well. “We have reached some consensus. We are still discussing various issues,” he said. “Negotiations have not progressed to the point where we can sign a contract right away.”
Ham Deok-ju married Joeyan on the 9th after two years of dating and went on a honeymoon in Hawaii, USA. Ham Deok-ju is one of the biggest contributors to LG’s victory this year. He came to LG through a 2-2 trade with Yang Seok-hwan as a “winning contractor” in 2021, but after two years of hard work due to injury, he has displayed stellar performance in the bullpen this season with a healthy body.
He pitched in 57 games and recorded four wins, no losses, four saves and 16 holds. He performed well at the waist of the mound, with an ERA of 1.62 days. He pitched 55 ⅔ innings, struck out 59 and walked only 22.
When Ko was sidelined due to injury, he also served as a temporary closer. Since suffering from elbow injury in late August, he has recovered slower than expected, failing to return to the regular season. However, he pitched in a total of four autumn baseball games, including Games 1, 2, 3 and 5, and recorded one win and an ERA of 2.70. In Game 2, Ham Deok-ju was given his first career winning pitcher in the Korean Series, as he turned the tables with Park Dong-won’s dramatic two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth inning after blocking no run in the top of the eighth inning.
Ham Deok-ju is essential to LG next season. In particular, Ko Woo-suk is currently pushing to advance to the Major League through posting, so he has to catch Ham Deok-ju. If Ko Woo-suk leaves for the Major League, there will be no pitcher to finish immediately. LG needs Kim Jin-sung or Ham Deok-ju who has experience in finishing to make it easier for them to find a new finish. Depending on the situation, Ham Deok-ju may be the closing pitcher.
For LG, it is a good thing that Ham Deok-ju became a B grade. Originally, Ham Deok-ju, whose annual salary of 100 million won (89,000 U.S. dollars), was expected to become a C grade this year, but when the KBO announced the FA qualification list, many teams were shocked by the fact that it became a B grade. While the C grade only requires compensation without compensation players, the B grade requires compensation with one compensation player excluding 25 protected players. For Ham Deok-ju, the C grade is advantageous because many teams need offers to raise their ransom, but for LG, the B grade was more advantageous in protecting Ham Deok-ju.
LG was surprised for a moment. The team conducted an identity check on Ham Deok-ju at the Major League Baseball secretariat on March 30. The team was paying attention to him because he was not fast but had a sense of deception that hid the ball as much as possible and had an outstanding changeup. Fortunately, as Ham did not show much intention to the Major League, negotiations between LG and Ham Deok-ju are going well.
Having won three titles in 2015, 2016 and 2019 at Doosan, which uses Jamsil as its home stadium, Ham Deok-ju had a hard time after moving to LG’s next door in 2021. However, Ham Deok-ju has revived as a main bullpen pitcher this season, reliving LG’s resentment and enjoying the joy of winning, getting married and starting a happy family. And now the FA jackpot is approaching. Ham will return from his honeymoon on the 18th.