Now, fans' eyes are on Ko Woo-suk, the winner. However, there is no big news yet. The baseball community expects that it will be a race against time.
Lee Jung-hoo said early on that the club would post after this year's end, so major league teams were very interested in Lee Jung-hoo from spring camp. Even during the season, Major League scouts watched Lee Jung-hoo's game. San Francisco Giants, who scouted Lee Jung-hoo almost every day during spring camp and watched Lee Jung-hoo, visited Gocheok Sky Dome in October when Lee Jung-hoo played his last game after injury.
On the 5th, Lee Jung-hoo and Ko Woo-seok were posted together. However, Lee Jung-hoo immediately flocked to various teams, and the ransom soared. Every time the local media reported, the expected amount increased, and news of a huge contract worth $113 million over six years was reported on the 13th. On the 15th, the official announcement was made along with the passage of the medical check, and Lee Jung-hoo appeared at Oracle Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants. It happened in just 12 days.
It was known after the Korean Series that Ko Woo-suk would post. He was qualified to post after this season, and Ko expressed his desire to post if he wins the championship to the team, but he never disclosed it to the public. He became the save king with 42 saves last year, but this year he only made 15 saves due to injury. He won the title due to his poor personal performance, but the club expected him not to post.
However, the situation changed on Nov. 14 when the Major League's identification check on Ko Woo-suk came in together with Lee Jung-hoo. Ko's agent officially requested the LG team to post something, and after deliberation, the team allowed the posting on the condition that the team should agree on the final ransom. It meant that the team would not send an important finish at too low a price.
It quickly prepared and handed over the documents to the KBO, which requested the MLB Secretariat to post Ko Woo-suk on the 28th. And the MLB Secretariat, along with Lee Jung-hoo, made a posting announcement on Dec. 5.
As news of Ko's posting came out, some U.S. teams have shown interest in him. The St. Louis Cardinals, where Kim played, were the first players to express interest in Ko, saying that he needed to strengthen his bullpen. He also showed interest in Yuki Matsui of Japan, but for now, the St. Louis Cardinals seem to be working on recruiting Matsui first. "According to sources, left-handed relief pitcher Yuki Matsui, a five-time All-Star in Japanese pro baseball, visited the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday," MLB.com reporter Mark Paynesand said. Matsui is a left-handed bullpen pitcher who has recorded 236 saves and an ERA of 2.43 over 10 years for the Rakuten.
Even if St. Louis recruits Matsui, it has to recruit one or two more bullpen pitchers, so Ko Woo-seok is still considered one of the candidates.
Seattle media also mentioned Ko Woo-suk as a candidate for the bullpen, and New York media also pointed out him as a candidate for the Yankees.
The baseball community expects that even if Ko is not a big deal for the Major League, he will be able to sign a contract with the conditions that LG allows. It is because there is a shortage of players in the Major League. The problem is called time.
Ko Woo-suk is not a free agent, but has a fixed time through posting. The contract must be completed by January 4th next year. The problem is that clubs have an order of players to recruit immediately. After bringing in players who will be the main players of the team first, they take care of other players' contracts.
When Ko Woo-seok attended the "2023 Love Giving Festival with Championship" event held at Kyung Hee University's Seoul Campus Peace Hall on the 2nd, "Applying for posting doesn't make much difference. There is no guarantee that it will work out unconditionally. Even if I return, I can remain with the LG Twins," he said. "I can go through posting or even if I can't, I can try as an FA next year. I think it's best to just go with the flow."