SEOUL-- With one major acquisition out of the way, the wait begins for the Kia Tigers in another important piece of business this offseason -- reuniting with a franchise icon, left-hander Yang Hyeon-jong.

Yang is a free agent this winter after spending a largely unsuccessful season with the Texas Rangers in Major League Baseball (MLB). The 33-year-old made his Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) debut with the Tigers in 2007 and went on to pitch for them until 2020, before agreeing to a minor league deal with the Rangers in February this year.

Yang, who split his time between the majors and the minors, decided to come home. In mid-October, even before the KBO regular season ended, the Tigers announced Yang had expressed interest in rejoining them and other clubs could forget about going after the pitcher.

But negotiations haven't gone as smoothly as expected.

The two sides last met Wednesday. The Tigers said they made Yang their final offer, but Yang told the team he needed more time to think about the proposal.

Less than 24 hours later, the Tigers announced their signing of a free agent outfielder Na Sung-bum to a six-year contract worth 15 billion won (US$12.6 million), tied for the largest free agent deal in league history.

Though Na denied this Thursday, the widely held belief was that the Tigers already had a deal in place with Na and wanted to wait until they got Yang's contract done first before announcing Na's signing. A Tigers official acknowledged last week that Na's contract, no matter when it gets signed, would not be announced before Yang's. This was the Tigers' way of showing respect to Yang, who won two championships with the club and captured both the regular season and Korean Series MVP awards in 2017.

But that was then, and this is now.

On Thursday, Tigers' general manager Jang Jung-suk said, "We gave him our final offer and we will wait for his response."

Sources have said the Tigers and Yang remain far apart on the amount of guaranteed money.

The Tigers are said to have offered more in performance-based incentives than in the guaranteed portion of the deal. They are apparently concerned that Yang, who will turn 34 before the start of next season, will not live up to a hefty contract, and they want him to earn his money by reaching performance thresholds.

Yang, on the other hand, is said to be seeking a larger share of guaranteed salary, thinking he has paid his dues with the club for over a decade, and he can still pitch at a high level.

The two-time ERA champion has been one of the most durable starters in the KBO over the past several years. But he posted a 4.70 ERA and an opponents' on-base plus slugging percentage of .740, in 2020, both marks his worst as a full-time starter. His strikeout rate fell slightly but his walk rate nearly doubled from 2019, all warning signs that his decline as a top-end pitcher may have already begun.

The Tigers said Wednesday they would schedule another meeting with Yang.

Source: Yonhap News Agency