Hanwha acquired An Chi-hong from the FA market this winter for a total of 7.2 billion won (6.37 million U.S. dollars) for four plus two years. Since then, there was a possibility of recruiting an additional FA, but without making any significant move, it signed a contract with veteran catcher Lee Jae-won of the SSG Landers at an annual salary of 50 million won. As Hanwha showed passive stance on recruiting additional FA players from outside, rumors circulated in the baseball community that the Hanwha Eagles is focusing on recruiting Ryu Hyun-jin.
So how is Ryu Hyun-jin’s current situation progressing? Until now, Major League Baseball’s stove league has been dominated by FA contracts for large players. Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who received the most attention this season, joined the team on Wednesday after joining the team for a 12-year contract worth a total of 325 million U.S. dollars (estimated at 41.5 billion won).
News of Ryu’s contract is expected to be completed before early January or mid January. Rumors have it that Ryu’s contract has been delayed and the player is nervous, but it turned out to be not true. 슬롯머신
Following the Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets, the Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Kansas City Royals are actively seeking FA starting pitchers during the Stove League. Some of them are actually interested in recruiting Ryu and are known to be proactive. A Major League scout, who asked not to be named, explained Ryu’s future.
“Ryu Hyun-jin has a lot of major league careers, has performed well, and although he experienced surgery due to injury, he returned this season and finished the season in good health, so the market has a good reputation. It can be a bit boring to wait, but if you just wait, the market’s evaluation and value will surely go up further. It’s a personal opinion and I’m sorry to Hanwha fans, but it seems unlikely that Ryu will play for Hanwha in the 2024 season.”
The scout says he is also interested in Ryu Hyun-jin in his team, and that he is very curious and looking forward to the result because recruiting players is a negotiation between senior club officials and agents.
