|
[스포츠서울 윤세호기자] The market is still moving slowly, but one or two people come to the table. San Francisco, who was looking for a small to mid-sized left-handed starter, also drew a sketch of the starter by signing a $3 million guarantee contract with Alex Wood. As the deadline for the big league contract set by Yang Hyun-jong (33) approaches, interest is focused on whether a major reversal will occur.
San Francisco signed a short-term contract with Wood on the 15th (Korean time) with a guarantee of $3 million and up to $6 million. Previously, he found a left-handed pitcher to take the last spot in the starting line, and chose Wood, who has a relationship with President Parhan Jaidi and coach Gabe Capler. Prior to joining Wood, there were many prospects that James Paxton and Jose Quintana could be hired, but he brought Wood and finally added a left hand to the pitching team.
For Yang Hyeon-jong, it may be that one option has been reduced. Even more so when looking at Wood’s contract size. It is known that Hyunjong Yang’s side focuses on the opportunity to participate in the big leagues rather than the amount. The contract period is not long, and the top priority is to reach at least the big league mound. Kim Gwang-hyun, who entered the big league about a year ago, signed a two-year 8 million dollar guarantee contract with St. Louis, but considering the current market situation, it seems difficult for Yang Hyun-jong to surpass Kim Kwang-hyun in terms of contract size. The contract size is expected to be similar to that of Wood, but one position has already been filled.
There is market value. Yang Hyun-jong struggled with ups and downs last year, but he proved durability by digesting more than 170 innings for 7 consecutive years. The big league clubs are concerned about the mound this year as they played the regular season with 60 games last year. The trend is to minimize the mound variable by securing the pitcher first. If you are a team looking for a 4·5 starting pitcher, you can consider recruiting Hyunjong Yang, whose contract size is not large.
The problem is time. There is not much time left. Yang Hyeon-jong plans to proceed to the big league by the 20th, and if nothing has progressed, it will turn to the KIA. Since the spring camp will be held from February 1st, KIA cannot wait for Yang Hyeon-jong. In other words, if there is no satisfactory offer from the big league club for the next five days, the gaze will turn to KIA. It is known that KIA has calculated the contract size to some extent in case Yang Hyeon-jong returns.
Yang Hyeon-jong tried to advance overseas even four years ago. In December 2016, he received an offer of 600 million yen for two years from Yokohama, a Japanese professional baseball game, but chose to remain in the KIA. Four years later, they are promoting overseas expansion again, but the situation is not as good as at the time. We put more emphasis on entering the big leagues than Japan, but the FA market in the big leagues froze due to the Corona 19 incident. Yang Hyeon-jong desperately needs a great reversal in order to cross the Pacific Ocean.