KIA club officially announced the recruitment of infielder Seo Kun-chang on the 15th. The terms of the contract are 50 million won in annual salary and 70 million won in incentives according to the option. The total amount is 120 million won, but the guaranteed annual salary is actually about 50 million won, the lowest annual salary based on the first team. It is a "motivation contract" with higher incentives than annual salary.
It is true that KIA is the team that has been rumored several times over Seo Kun-chang's next destination, who left the LG Twins last year. Seo Kun-chang has not answered the "love call" of his former team Kiwoom Heroes since he left LG. It became a reality by signing a contract with KIA after the year was over amid rumors that he might have a club other than Kiwoom.
In fact, Kia does not desperately need Seo due to its strong capacity. This is because it has Kim Sun-bin, its flagship second baseman. Seo's main position is also at second base. Kia signed an FA contract on Jan. 4, 10 days before the contract between Kim Sun-bin and Seo.
There are not many vacant positions in the infield right now. There is a high probability that Kim Sun-bin will firmly defend his starting second baseman this year, and Park Chan-ho is the shortstop. Also, chances are high that Kim Do-young will take the third base again this year. The vacant position will be around the first base, where the starting lineup is not certain. "Kim Sun-bin will be the starting lineup for the second base. Seo will start as a backup for the second base, but depending on the situation, he will be able to back up the first base as well," Kia Tigers general manager Shim Jae-hak said.
Eventually, Seo Kun-chang is expected to be used as a backup to the first and second bases. Baseball cannot guarantee that various variables will occur when the regular season begins in earnest after spring camp, but the basic idea is so.
However, it was Seo's choice, who desperately wanted the last chance. Kiwoom, the former team, basically deploys young players and hired veteran hitter Choi Joo-hwan, who had resources for the first and second bases, in last year's second draft. The team has no room in the team. On the other hand, Kia seems to have made the premise that it was not certain whether it would go to the first base and that it could sufficiently guarantee an opportunity to play as a backup to the second base.
In fact, it was not that his previous team, LG, had no chance. Rather, LG, which had not established a solid second baseman, was a more opportunity team. However, baseball did not go as I thought. With the situation going out as the main player, his position gradually diminished and he eventually left the team.
Seo Kun-chang, who recorded 201 hits in a single season in 2014, will have his last chance at the Kia Tigers. KIA is the dark horse of the championship that its opponents picked this year. If only foreign pitchers can take the center stage, it can fully challenge for the presidency by banking on its strong batting lineup.
Seo Geon-chang's role is important here. If he can clearly support the team as an infield backup agent, he can erase the last weakness of KIA, which ended its season last year after struggling with various injury variables. According to KIA's infield composition, the starting lineup is full, but last year, Kim Do-young, Kim Sun-bin, and Park Chan-ho all left the team due to major and minor injuries, causing the entire team to falter. The best scenario is that all the main players play a full-time season without injury, but variables always exist. Seo Geon-chang's role as filling the spot for this variable is important. He holds the key to the answer when it comes to KIA's presidential bid. Of course, personal performance is a bonus.