In the past, Lee Seung-yup actively sought to sign or re-sign Yang Ji, Yang Seok-hwan, and Hong Gun-hee in free agency. But how does he view Heo’s decision to waive his player option and exercise his free agency rights?
Heo Kyung-min, the starting third baseman for the Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), was among the 20 players approved for free agency in 2025, as announced by the KBO on May 5. He waived his three-year, 2 billion won ($1.2 million) player option with Doosan after the 2024 season and exercised his free agency rights for the second time in his career.
He signed his first free agent contract on December 10, 2020, with his original team, Doosan. The terms of the contract were 4+3 years, with a total of 6.5 billion won ($2.5 billion) in signing bonus and 4 billion won in annual salary in the first four years, and a three-year, 2 billion won player option clause for the first time in Doosan history.
In his four years as a free agent, Heo batted .288 with 27 home runs, 228 RBIs, 29 doubles, 233 runs scored, and a .743 OPS in 502 games (1746 hits, 499 at-bats). In his first year, he helped lead the Miracle run from the Wild Card Game to the Korean Series, and in 2023, he served as captain and helped lead the team to a return to the Fall League after a two-year absence under manager Lee Seung-yeop, who had no managerial experience.
Entering the final year of his four-year free-agent contract in 2024,
Heo batted .811 with a 3-for-9 record, 129 hits, seven home runs, 61 RBI, five doubles, 69 runs scored and an OPS of .811 in 115 games. He battled through a series of injury setbacks, including a micro-tear in his supraspinatus muscle in his right shoulder and a dislocated pinky finger, to produce 477 at-bats on offense and 883 innings on defense, his best performance in all four years of free agency.
Now, four years later, Heo is facing a choice. The key was whether or not to exercise his player option. After his four-year contract was up, Heo signed a contract that allowed the player to take the initiative to re-sign, rather than the club. If Heo wanted to stay with Doosan, 카지노사이트 he would receive three more years and 2 billion won, and if he wanted more money, he could declare himself a free agent and be evaluated on the market again.
A seventh-round pick of Doosan in the second round of the 2009 rookie draft, Heo has always been loyal to the Bears organization. “I was more grateful for the seven years than the money,” he said when he signed his first free agent contract. I will deeply cherish the hearts of Doosan fans who wanted me to stay for seven years,” and reassured fans in a dugout interview last summer, saying, ”Don’t worry, I will continue to stay with Doosan.”
Heo’s decision to pick up his player option doesn’t mean he’s leaving Doosan. He could still sign a free agent contract with his original club and declare himself a lifelong Bearsman for a better deal than the three-year, 2 billion won deal.
The manager also wished Heo Kyung-min the best in his stay negotiations.
Lee Seung-yup, who strongly requested the signing and re-signing of Yang Ji, Yang Seok-hwan, and Hong Gun-hee when they were free agents, said at the Icheon finalization camp on June 6, “The free agents (Heo Kyung-min and Kim Kang-ryul) are completely in the hands of the club. Whatever the outcome, there is nothing I can say. I just hope the (stay) negotiations go well,” he said bluntly.
“I’m only thinking about how to make a better team next year and how to use at least one more young player here in the first team,” he added.
Doosan plans to meet with Heo Kyung-min, who has become a “free agent house rabbit,” soon to share their position with the player. A Doosan official said, “Once the market opens in earnest, we will set up a negotiation table and listen to Heo’s position. We will negotiate well to retain the player.”
Meanwhile, the 2025 FA-approved players, who were announced on May 5, will be able to sign contracts with any club, including overseas clubs, from June 6. In addition, as a total of 20 players were announced as FA-approved players, up to two of the FA-approved players from other clubs can sign contracts according to Article 173 [Restrictions on Free Agent Acquisition] of the KBO Rules.