Hanwha Promises 17 Billion won + α Top Treatment for 4 Years to Ryu Hyun-jin... It will Likely be Concluded on the 21st
Hanwha Initiative signed a contract on the 21st and joined the Okinawa camp on the 22nd.
The Hanwha Eagles promised Ryu Hyun-jin (36) the highest treatment in the KBO League of Korean professional baseball history, worth 'more than 17 billion won over four years'.
However, the negotiation and contract procedures were not fully completed.
First of all, the 'current most ideal schedule' envisioned by Hanwha and Ryu Hyun-jin is to complete the contract on the 21st and join the spring camp in Okinawa, Japan on the 22nd.
According to the Yonhap News coverage on the 20th, Hanwha recently requested the Major League Baseball (MLB) secretariat through the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to check on Ryu Hyun-jin's status, and received a reply that day that Ryu Hyun-jin was a free agent (FA). 파워볼사이트
Hanwha carried out ‘paperwork’ and ‘negotiations’ simultaneously.
Among the paperwork, there was a ‘request for release of arbitrarily terminated athlete status’.
The more important negotiations with Ryu Hyun-jin have not yet been 100% completed.
First, Hanwha proposed a total of 17 billion won + α over four years.
It is known that all 17 billion won is the guaranteed amount.
17 billion won over four years is the highest in the KBO league for both total and average annual salary (4.25 billion won).
The moment Ryu Hyun-jin put his stamp on it, Yang Eui-ji signed a 4+2 year contract with the Doosan Bears ahead of the 2023 season, recording a previous total of up to 15.2 billion won, and Kim Gwang-hyun signed a 4-year contract in March 2022 when he quit his big league career and returned to SSG Landers.
This far surpasses the previous average annual salary of up to 15.1 billion won (3.775 billion won).
Here, the Hanwha club is expected to add bonuses or clauses to the contract for Ryu Hyun-jin's convenience.
After the 2012 season ended, Ryu Hyun-jin sought to advance to the American professional baseball major league through a posting (private competitive bidding) with the consent of Hanwha, and signed a six-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a total of $36 million.
Hanwha received a transfer fee of approximately 28 billion won (25,737,737 dollars and 33 cents) at the exchange rate at the time.
Korean seniors' who entered the big league before Ryu Hyun-jin, including Park Chan-ho, the first Korean major leaguer, went to the United States without going through the KBO league and endured life in the minor league before appearing on the big league stage.
After spending seven seasons in the KBO League, Ryu Hyun-jin went straight to the big league through posting, showing a new path for other Korean teammates.
In the big league, Ryu Hyun-jin pitched in 186 games and posted a record of 78 wins, 48 losses, 1 save, and an ERA of 3.27.
He also set records as the first Korean big leaguer, including leading the entire major league in earned run average (2019) and starting the All-Star Game (2019).
Ryu Hyun-jin played as a top starting pitcher even though his fastball velocity was below the major league average, and he was selected as a 'subject of study' by local experts.
Life in the big leagues was not always smooth.
Ryu Hyun-jin has been on the operating table a total of four times in his baseball career, three of which were performed in the United States.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who underwent surgery to repair the labrum of his left shoulder joint in May 2015, risking his career as a player, went to the operating table again in September 2016 to remove necrotic tissue in his left elbow.
The surgery I underwent in 2016 was a relatively minor surgery with a shorter rehabilitation period than ligament joint surgery.
In June 2022, I underwent elbow ligament joint surgery for the second time since my high school days.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who underwent three surgeries in the big leagues and endured hardships for rehabilitation, always performed better than expected.
In 2019, after undergoing surgery to remove necrotic tissue in his shoulder and elbow, he posted his personal best performance (14 wins, 5 losses, 2.32 ERA), and said, “It is very difficult for a pitcher who underwent elbow ligament repair surgery in his mid-30s to make a comeback.
Despite the pessimistic outlook of the local American media, Ryu Hyun-jin returned to the mound in August of last year and posted a respectable record of 3 wins, 3 losses, and an ERA of 3.46.
Ryu Hyun-jin, whose four-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays (total of $80 million from 2020 to 2023) expired, was worried about returning to Hanwha and staying in the big league.
Ryu Hyun-jin's heart was a little more inclined towards his return to the KBO league.
Multiple major league clubs made offers to recruit him, but they were not enough to shake Ryu Hyun-jin's heart.
In the end, Ryu Hyun-jin chose to return to Hanwha.
Hanwha and Ryu Hyun-jin have agreed to 'return after 12 years' and are refining the specific details of the contract.