Doosan announced on the 30th that it signed a 4+2 year contract with free agent first baseman Yang Seok-hwan (32) for up to 7.8 billion won. It includes a mutual option to receive up to 6.5 billion won (2 billion won in down payment, 3.9 billion won in total annual salary, and 600 million won in incentives) for the first four years and extend the two-year, 1.3 billion won contract after the four-year contract is over.
Yang Seok-hwan, who became a "body of freedom" after the season, was evaluated as the biggest fish in the FA this winter. His selling point was that he hit 20 home runs for three consecutive years since 2021, when he moved from the LG Twins to the Doosan Bears. However, he has never hit .300 (maximum 0.281 in the 2023 season) since his debut in 2015, and has never experienced 100 RBIs (maximum 96 in the 2021 season). He has recorded 122 home runs in total, but his maximum slugging rate per season remains at 0.455. Multiple teams have withdrawn from the recruitment race due to multiple reasons, and Doosan, the original team, eagerly opened its wallet.
Coincidentally, Yang Seok-hwan's agent is Rico. Rico previously signed a large contract with Doosan several times. In December 2020, infielder Huh Kyung-min remained at a maximum of 8.5 billion won for seven years. After the four-year contract ends, a four-year 6.5 billion won (2.5 billion won down payment and 4 billion won in total annual salary) was guaranteed, and a three-year, 2 billion won option for players was included. The structure is similar to this contract with Yang. In December 2021, the big gun Kim Jae-hwan remained at a maximum of 11.5 billion won for four years. It was a megaton-class contract that guaranteed a whopping 11 billion won (500 million won in incentives), including 5.5 billion won in down payment and 5.5 billion won in total annual salary. 스포츠토토
Rico also burst a big contract against Doosan last winter. When he transferred Yang Eui-ji, considered the biggest fish in the FA, from the NC Dinos to Doosan, he made a jackpot of up to 15.2 billion won for 4+2 years. He is guaranteed 11 billion won including 4.4 billion won in down payment and 6.6 billion won in total annual salary for the first four years, and has up to 4.2 billion won in player options for two years including incentives after the 2026 season. The total amount of contracts between Huh Kyung-min and Kim Jae-hwan, Yang Eui-ji and Yang Seok-hwan amounts to a maximum of 43.2 billion won. Under the current KBO league, agents can receive up to 5 percent of the fees under the contract.
"Yang Eui-ji and Kim Jae-hwan also signed a big contract, but Yang Seok-hwan has been added to the contract," a club source said. "I wonder if the salary cap will exceed the salary cap." The salary cap of the KBO League was introduced this season due to the upward leveling of players' capacity. The base point is 120 percent of the annual average amount of the top 40 players' annual salaries (including annual salary, actual option payments, and annual down payment for free agents) excluding foreign players and rookie players in 2021 and 2022, which amounts to a total of 11.4 billion won (14.24 million U.S. dollars). The salary cap in the KBO League is not a hard cap that should never be exceeded, but a soft cap that is subject to sanctions if the upper limit is exceeded. The number of times the cap is exceeded will result in sanctions or penalty for declining the rookie draft pick in the first round. All 10 professional baseball teams have not exceeded the salary cap this year.
In the field, it is said that it is close to having only three large FA. Doosan even has outfielder Jung Soo-bin, who signed up to 5.6 billion won for six years in December 2020. Rico's negotiations are expected to continue. Ricoh, who led infielder An Chi-hong's transfer to the Hanwha Eagles (6 years, up to 7.2 billion won), has pitcher Lim Chan-kyu (LG Twins) and pitcher Lim Chang-min (Kium Heroes) among his customers.