Salary cap butterfly effect, non-FA multi-year contract is not easy either

How many days will we be able to see Kim Won-joong 31 and Koo Seung-min 34, the strongest bullpen duo in Lotte Giants history. Koo and Kim set meaningful records last year. Setup man Koo Seung-min achieved his career-high 100 holds against Doosan in Jamsil on July 26 and 20 holds for the fourth consecutive year against Hanwha in Daejeon on August 31. The Closer Kim Won-joong recorded his career-high 100 saves against Sajik SSG on August 16.

This is a rare record in the club's history. Only 14 players had 100 holds in total prior to Koo, and none of them achieved such hold only in Lotte. The 20-hold game for the fourth consecutive year was also the first time in the club and the second achievement following Ahn Ji-man former Samsung, five years in a row in the KBO as a whole. Kim Won-joong also became the first player to make 100 saves in Lotte alone.

The two players, who have built milestones in their teams step by step, played indispensable roles in the 2023 season as well. Koo played 63 ⅔ innings in 67 games this season, recording 2-6 losses, 3 saves and 22 holds an ERA of 3.96. He led his team to victory by making consecutive throws from the beginning, and was also selected as an All-Star. Although he faltered due to shoulder fatigue at the end of the season, he performed well overall.

Kim Won-joong has been solidly keeping the back door of Lotte throughout the entire season. He pitched in 63 games 63 ⅔ innings, and recorded 5-6 losses with 30 saves with a 2.97 ERA. Although he was shaken up with a 3.95 ERA during the month of April, he significantly lowered it to 2.13 for the next four months from May. As a result, Kim earned an ERA of two points in the main league for the first time since joining the pro league in 2012. In the save ranking, he also tied for third after Seo Jin-yong 42 saves and Kim Jae-yoon 30 saves.

In particular, it is the "steadyness" that the two players have a high value within their team. Both Kim Won-joong and Koo Seung-min took the mound without any major injuries for four years starting in 2020, deleting the eighth and ninth innings. During this period, Koo played in 265 games, the most in the league, and Kim Won-joong also played in 225 games, ranking 12th. It is a great help to the team that they have two must-win players who can be considered "constant" over a single season.

Until now, Lotte has disgraced itself as a team with loose bullpen. Since its launch in 1982, Lotte has had only two titles of saves: John Akins 26 saves in 2009, Son Seung-rak 37 saves in 2017, Lim Kyung-wan 22 holds in 2004, and Oh Hyeon-taek 25 holds in 2018. He has never had top-notch relief pitchers in the league for a long time. That is why Kim Won-joong and Koo Seung-min inevitably exist.

Lotte will now have a new task after the end of this season. It means that it needs to catch Kim Won-joong and Koo Seung-min who are going to the FA free agent market. Both players will become the first FA players after the 2024 season. They will likely be the bullpen pitcher to watch in the next Stove League along with Seo Jin-yong SSG.

Of course, there is a similar method to a non-FA multi-year contract. If the contract is tied up even before entering the market, Lotte will have a comfortable winter as it has no notable internal FA except for the two players. However, Lotte has no choice but to be cautious about everything yet.

In particular, the problem of salary cap has emerged. While most clubs have yet to actively enter the FA market to comply with salary cap, Lotte will also be close to the salary cap limit if it catches both Kim Won-joong and Koo Seung-min. For Lotte, which cannot afford to pay only two players, it has to devise a complicated strategy.

In addition, being a bullpen pitcher is another cause for concern. In the KBO league, some view that relievers cannot run long except for the best quality players, which makes it relatively unlikely for other teams to reach out. In addition, considering the salary cap, neither Lotte nor other teams can prematurely step forward.

Of course, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung said to Koo Seung-min and Kim Won-joong, who attended the inauguration ceremony in October last year, "Of course, I want to stay with the team and ask them to help me. The more players a manager has, the better and the more greedy he is. I told him that he is needed."

Of the two FA players who came out this offseason, Lotte held Jeon Joon-woo 38 for four years at 4.7 billion won 3.97 million U.S. dollars, but its captain Ahn Chi-hong 34, gave up to the Hanwha Eagles. Will Lotte catch both rabbits in the next stove league, or will it inevitably let someone go like this one.  토토사이트