Jung Chan-heon (33), who entered the free agency market, returned to Kiwoom Heroes.
Prior to the demonstration game against Doosan Bears in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 27th, Kiwoom said, “Contract period with FA Jung Chan-heon 2 years, down payment 200 million won, annual salary 200 million won, option up to 260 million won. We signed an FA contract for a total of 860 million won.”
Jeong Chan-heon, a veteran with a total of 389 KBO league games (742 innings), 48 wins, 53 losses, 28 holds, 46 saves, and an ERA of 4.80, had a somewhat sluggish performance with 5 wins, 6 losses, and an ERA of 5.36 in 20 games (87⅓ innings) last season before free agency. Reaped. There was a prospect that he would give up his free agency application, but Jeong Chan-heon chose to enter the free agency market.
But the market’s reaction was lukewarm. No team signed a contract with Jeong Chan-heon until the end of the spring camp and the exhibition game was almost over. It was promoted as a sign-and-trade, but in the end it didn’t work out.
In this situation, Kiwoom eventually reached out again. Director Ko Hyeong-wook said, “I got a call from Jeong Chan-heon’s agent saying it was the last offer. After an internal meeting, it was decided to bring him back in 3-4 hours.”
In the process of FA negotiations, Chanheon Jeong’s agent initially offered Kiwoom a down payment of 150 million won, an annual salary of 100 million won, and an option of up to 100 million won over the contract period of two years. Kiwoom, who had been thinking about this proposal, instead proposed a maximum of 860 million won for two years, an increase of 410 million won from a maximum of 450 million won. After hearing Kiwoom’s proposal, Jeong Chan-heon decided to sign a contract with Kiwoom.
Jeong Chan-heon, who said, “I was contacted by the club yesterday and went straight to the contract,” said Chan-Heon Jeong, “The contract negotiations did not proceed sequentially. I was contacted yesterday, and I signed a contract right away with a little improvisation.”
Kiwoom made a counter-proposal by raising the price by nearly twice the amount proposed by Jeong Chan-heon. Regarding the reason for increasing the size of the contract, general manager Ko Hyeong-wook said, “When I first saw the contract offer, I felt sorry that I was not a player of that level. (Jeong) I could feel that Chanheon was desperate. In fact, I could have signed a contract for a small amount. However, thinking that we should re-evaluate as much as our expectations, we set the price again and made a counter-offer. It seems that this amount is our club’s expectation for Jung Chan-heon. Since we are evaluating it like this, it also means that we want to do an activity that matches it.” 메이저사이트
There was a lot of talk about sign-and-trade throughout the winter, but general manager Ko Hyeong-wook said, “I didn’t think about a trade. I hope you will look at it with a pure heart.”
Jeong Chan-heon, who failed to digest the spring camp and demonstration game, plans to prepare for the season in the rehabilitation group. Head coach Ko Hyeong-wook said, “First of all, we need to figure out the exact physical condition of Jeong Chan-heon. He seems to be preparing on the training side, and the on-site coaching staff will make a judgment and coordinate the timing of the first-team call-up. He has not yet decided on his position.”