When Lee Jung-hoo (25, Kiwoom Heroes) met with Hankyoreh last December, he said. “
For me, the Heroes were a ‘lotto’ in a way. I can only be grateful.”
Lee will now move to the US Major League Baseball with a $18.85 million (24.7 billion won) “lotto” payout to his “benefactor” club.
Although no official announcement has been made, Lee signed a six-year, $113 million (14.84 billion won) contract with the San Francisco Giants, including an opt-out clause after four years, according to U.S. media outlets on Sept. 13 (KST).
If Lee had been a free agent, the Heroes would not have received any transfer fee from San Francisco. However, Lee needs his club’s permission to move to a foreign club.
After completing seven seasons in the KBO, players can seek permission from their clubs to play overseas in the U.S., Japan, and other countries through a posting (closed competitive bidding) process.
When Lee finalizes his contract with San Francisco, he will become the sixth player to reach the major leagues through the domestic league.
If Lee had played one more year in the KBO, he would have been eligible for free agency.
However, he decided that it would be advantageous to reach the major leagues at a younger age.
Since he reached the big leagues as a post player, he will have to wear a Heroes uniform when he returns to the Korean League in the future.
The first Korean player to try for the post was Lee Sang-hoon of the LG Twins in 1998.
However, the highest bid was only $600,000, which was not accepted by the ELG.
Jin Pil-joong (Doosan Bears) applied for the post twice in 2002, but his bid of $25,000 prevented him from reaching the big leagues.
Lim Chang-yong (2002-$650,000) and Choi Hyang-nam (2009-$101) were also rejected by their clubs because their offers were too small.
Son Asub, Hwang Jae-gyun (2015), Kim Jae-hwan (2019), and Na Sung-beom (2020) had no bids at all.
Under the posting system, until 2017, the club that submitted the highest transfer fee in a sealed bid had sole negotiating rights.
This is how Ryu Hyun-jin, Kang Jeong-ho, and Park Byung-ho reached the big leagues. This is how Ryu Hyun-jin was able to get a transfer fee of $25.737 million ($33 million) from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
However, with the revision of the Korea-U.S. 카지노사이트가이드
Baseball Organization Agreement in 2018, players who applied for a post can negotiate with multiple clubs simultaneously like free agents before making a final choice.
Before Lee, Kim Kwang-hyun (2019) and Kim Ha-seong (2021) followed suit.
The posting amount is lower than before. If the total guaranteed contract amount is between $25 million and $50 million, 20% of $25 million ($5 million) plus 17.5% of the amount over $25 million will be paid to the parent club.
If the total guaranteed amount exceeds $50 million, the transfer fee is 20% of $25 million ($5 million), 17.5% of $25 million to $50 million, and 15% of all amounts over $50 million.
Accordingly, the transfer fee for Kim Kwang-hyun (two-year, $8 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals) was set at $1.6 million, and the transfer fee for Kim Ha-seong (four-year, $28 million contract with the San Diego Padres) was set at $1.6 million and $5.52 million, respectively.
Right-handed reliever Ko Woo-seok (25-LG), the brother-in-law of Lee Jung-hoo and son-in-law of former ELG coach Lee Jong-beom, has also applied for a post.
Ko can negotiate with all major league teams until Jan. 4.
LHP Ham Deok-ju, who is also a free agent, received a background check from a major league club late last month.
He is eligible for the big leagues without a transfer fee.
