SSG gives up veteran, Samsung bolsters bullpen…a mixed secondary draft
SSG’s big fish veterans Choi Joo-hwan and Kim Kang-min were traded to Kiwoom and Hanwha in the second round of the draft. KT took Woo Kyu-min, who was offered by Samsung.
The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) held the second round of the draft behind closed doors on Feb. 22 and released the results. Six players were selected in the first round: Choi Joo-hwan (35, ESG), Lee Sang-gyu, Choi Sung-hoon, Kim Ki-yeon (LG), Park Dae-on (NC), and Woo Kyu-min (Samsung).
With the first-round pick, Kiwoom selected infielder Choi Ju-hwan, the highest pick in the draft. Choi, who signed a four-year, 4.2 billion won contract with Eskay (SK) in December 2020, played in 134 games this year, batting .235 with 20 home runs and 63 RBIs.
He has regained his power and improved his form from last year, when he hit .211 with nine homers.
However, the rebuilding ESG removed Choi from the 35-man draft protection list for salary cap reasons.
Kiwoom selected ELG pitcher Oh Seok-ju in the second round and ESG pitcher Cho Sung-hoon in the fourth round.
ESG outfielder Kim Kang-min, 41, who was last year’s Korean Series Most Valuable Player (MVP), was a fourth-round pick for Hanwha, who needed an outfielder with immediate power. 토토
Kim, who joined the Eskies in 2001 and has played for the same team ever since, has appeared in 1919 games and hit .274 with 138 home runs.
According to ESG, Kim was in the process of negotiating with the club over the timing of his retirement and coach training.
Samsung acquired veteran left-handed reliever Choi Sung-hoon from Elgi in the first round of the second draft and reliever Yang Hyun from Kiwoom in the second round.
Samsung bolstered the mound by signing Katie’s specialty closer Kim Jae-yoon, who was a free agent in the Stove League, to a four-year, 5.8 billion won contract.”
In the second round of the draft, the team sent out four players in total, with Elgie, Esuji, and Yen.
Baseball Korea stipulates that a team cannot draft more than four players to prevent an overflow of players from a particular team.
Elgee, which has a thick middle infield, released three pitchers (Lee Sang-gyu, Choi Sung-hoon, and Suk-joo) and one catcher (Kim Ki-yeon), while ESG, which is under salary cap pressure (11.426 billion won), removed two veterans (Choi Joo-hwan and Kim Kang-min), one pitcher (Choi Sung-hoon), and one infielder (Choi Hang) from the pending list.
The N’s had two pitchers (Bae Min-seo and Lee Jong-jun), a catcher (Park Dae-on), and an infielder (Kim Chul-ho) selected and sent to other teams.
The secondary draft was revived after a four-year hiatus with the intention of leveling up the KBO and giving players more first-team opportunities.
Players selected must be registered with the first team for a certain period of time.
