On the 14th, the Hanwha Eagles carried out a 2-2 trade to recruit infielder Cho Hyun-jin and NC Dinos outfielder Lee Myung-ki and catcher Lee Jae-yong with the 2024 rookie 7th round nomination.
With this trade, Hanwha has strengthened the depth of the lacking position along with resolving overlapping positions.
Lee Myung-gi, a left-handed outfielder with a career batting average of 0.307, participated in 94 games last season, recording 78 hits in 300 at-bats with a batting average of 0.260 and 23 RBIs.
Lee Jae-yong is a potential catcher who was nominated for the 2nd 5th round of NC in 2017 as a military resource born in 1999. He went 1-for-5 in eight games last season, and that hit was a home run. His career records for the Futures are 49 hits and 19 RBI in 249 at-bats in 118 games.
Regarding this trade, Hanwha coach Carlos Subero also expressed great satisfaction.
Director Subero said, “I was concerned that the catcher’s depth would weaken with the military enlistment of Heo In-seo, but I am very satisfied because the position was filled with the joining of a young military-filler catcher and internal competition became possible.” , but the joining of these two players will strengthen our internal competition and help us develop into a better team.”
He said, “In the meantime, we have received the most young players in the league, but now it is time to prepare them to a competitive level in the league.” “The message of this trade is clear. It means that you have to overcome through competition to have your own place.”
What is noteworthy is Lee Myung-gi’s ransom. Lee Myung-gi signed a contract with an annual salary of 50 million won and an option of 50 million won. He has a total of 100 million won, but if he can’t beat the competition, he will be playing for almost the minimum annual salary. 50 million won is the amount you can receive if you stay in the first team for one season. 먹튀검증
This is the part where you can see how desperate Lee Myung-gi was. It’s a belly button contract as big as a ship, but Lee Myung-gi accepted it and chose to extend his playing career.
It is not a very economical choice. Instead, it seems that Lee Myung-gi’s heart was shaken by the fact that he could compete by playing baseball.
Joining Lee Myung-gi is expected to be a significant force for Hanwha Electric Power. Lee Myung-gi, who joined SK (now SSG) in 2008, is a veteran player who has played more than 100 games almost every year since 2015.
What Hanwha lacked the most was the existence of a veteran who should serve as a textbook for young players. It seems that the young Hanwha outfielders will learn a lot from Lee Myung-ki.
Currently, only one spot in the Hanwha outfield is vacant. The more Lee Myung-gi tries to win the competition, the more Hanwha young players can learn.
As coach Subero said, it is Hanwha that has to build a winning power beyond the time of radical generation change. This is an example that shows Hanwha’s direction as it is by recruiting only 4 outside free agents.
If Lee Myung-ki does his part as a veteran, it seems that his salary will be normalized along with the restoration of his reputation. It remains to be seen what kind of performance Lee Myung-gi can perform as a leader.
