Hanwha made a major reinforcement in the off-season. Hanwha, which placed at the bottom for three consecutive years,안전놀이터 showed its will for performance this year along with the achievements of rebuilding.
In the FA market, Chae Eun-seong (6 years, 9 billion won), Lee Tae-yang (4 years, 2.4 billion won), and Oh Seon-jin (1+1 years, 400 million won) were recruited. Completed all external free agent recruiting limits (three). Recently, veteran outfielder Lee Myung-ki (up to 100 million won per year) was recruited through a signing and trade. Pitcher, all positions in the infield and outfield have been strengthened.
In the center is Chae Eun-seong. He can play both first baseman and outfielder, and he played an active role as a 4th hitter for LG last year. In addition to hitting the center hitter, many young players are expected to play a role in instilling leadership and a winning culture in Hanwha.
The detailed conditions of Chae Eun-sung’s ‘9 billion contract’ are a down payment of 3.6 billion won, a total annual salary of 4.4 billion won, and an option of 1 billion won. However, the option worth 1 billion won is divided over five years from 2024 to 2028. This year, there are no options based on grades.
It was a consideration to adapt to the new team without the burden of options. And I have faith that I will do my part enough even if I don’t bet the option.
General Manager Son Hyuk, whom we met at the Arizona camp in the United States, said, “Chae Eun-seong has consistently produced long hits and RBIs as a central hitter, and is an exemplary player. In our team, which has many young players, we look forward to serving as veterans who lead by example. So the first year eliminated the option. It meant not to worry about options and to lead the team comfortably.”
Normally, the option of an FA contract can be received only when the standard performance and number of games are exceeded to some extent, but Chae Eun-seong receives a 100% guaranteed amount without an option this year.
Chae Eun-seong said, “Thank you to Hanwha. It’s not something that you can receive just because you want to receive a lot, but you can’t say that there are too many of them, so please reduce it a bit.
He continued, “Because I have to show an exemplary appearance and there will be something I want from myself. I won’t be able to hit more than 30 home runs suddenly just because I suddenly changed teams, but there will be things I want enough from, and I think the most important thing is to prepare well to meet them.”
As soon as he joined the new team, he took over as the field team leader and leads the young players. He said, “When I came to Hanwha, there were many talented young players. However, it seems that he lacks confidence in himself. We have to compete with confidence.”
Chae Eun-seong made routines such as weight training and batting training along with Kim Hyun-soo, a ‘training fanatic’ at LG, and has a lot of training. As soon as he came to Hanwha, he held on to Noh Si-hwan and passed on while doing weights together. Younger hitters such as Noh Si-hwan and Jung Eun-won have already followed Chae Eun-seong and volunteered for extra betting, and the ‘Chae Eun-seong effect’ is appearing.