SEOUL-- Two Seoul-based rivals in South Korean baseball re-signed their own free agent outfielders Friday, awarding each player the exact same amount of money in multiyear contracts.
First, the Doosan Bears retained left fielder Kim Jae-hwan, former most valuable player in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), on a four-year deal.
The 33-year-old will earn as much as 11.5 billion won (US$9.69 million) -- with 5.5 billion won in total salary and signing bonus each, and up to 500 million won in incentives.
Then about three hours later, the LG Twins announced their re-signing of left-fielder/first baseman Kim Hyun-soo, who will also make up to 11.5 billion won.
For the first four years of the deal, Kim will make 4 billion won in total salary and 5 billion won in signing bonus. If the team and the player exercise their mutual option for two additional years, Kim will earn 2.5 billion won.
The Bears and the Twins share Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southeastern Seoul as their home.
The Bears had been under pressure to keep Kim Jae-hwan, the 2018 league MVP, after losing another star outfielder, Park Kun-woo, in free agency to the NC Dinos on Tuesday. After the deal was announced, Kim said he'd never thought of signing with a team other than the Bears.
In 2021, Kim batted .274/.382/.501 with 27 home runs and 102 RBIs. He made his KBO debut with the Bears in 2008 but didn't become an everyday player until 2016. Kim has hit at least 20 home runs and knocked in 100 or more runs in five of six seasons since then. From 2016 to 2021, Kim has put up a KBO-best 678 RBIs and ranks second in the league with 188 home runs.
In his 14-year career, Kim has had 201 home runs, 1,008 hits and 722 RBIs in 987 games, batting .296/.385/.537.
Meanwhile, the Twins have successfully kept Kim Hyun-soo, who has spent four seasons with the club after debuting with the Bears in 2006 and playing for two years in Major League Baseball (MLB). The multiyear deal most likely means Kim, 33, will retire as a Twin.
Kim had signed a four-year deal with the Twins, also for 11.5 billion won, after returning from MLB before the 2018 season. No KBO player has made more money in free agency than Kim.
He has batted .319/.401/.490 with 212 homers, 1,943 hits and 1,169 RBIs in 1,670 games throughout 14 KBO seasons.
In 2021, Kim batted .285, the first time he'd failed to hit over .300 since 2012, while launching 17 homers with 96 RBIs. His other offensive numbers fell across the board from previous seasons, but Kim has been lauded for being a well-respected clubhouse leader.
Source: Yonhap News Agency