Choi Joo-hwan, a veteran hitter with a career-high 1,172 hits, will qualify as a FA for the second time after the end of this season.
Choi Joo-hwan, who debuted and grew up with the Doosan Bears, obtained his first FA qualification ahead of the 2021 season. Choi Joo-hwan, who declared an FA and went to the market, signed a four-year contract with the SK Wyverns (currently SSG Landers) for up to 4.2 billion won.
Choi Joo-hwan, who played for SSG for three seasons after the team was acquired immediately after the signing, moved back to the Kiwoom Heroes through the second draft after completing the 2023 season. It was a change that came with the last year left of the four-year contract.
Choi Joo-hwan also had a competitive edge in slugging power, hitting 20 home runs in 134 games in the 2023 season when he played for SSG. However, he was excluded from the second draft protection list by the SSG team’s will to change the infield generation, and changed his uniform after being selected by Kiwoom first.
Choi primarily played first base this season when he played for Kiwoom. Since Kiwoom has Kim Hye-sung, the league’s best second baseman, Hong Won-ki used Choi as a first baseman or pinch-hitter.
His batting performance this season was 257 (124 hits in 482 at-bats) with 13 home runs and 84 RBIs with an OPS of 0.715. The on-base percentage (0.325) increased compared to the past two years, but it was somewhat disappointing that the slugging percentage (0.390), including the number of home runs, decreased.
As Kiwoom finished the regular season at the bottom, Choi Joo-hwan was also on the verge of obtaining his second FA qualification.
However, there is another change in Kiwoom. It is recruiting Kang Jin-seong, a reliever. Kang Jin-seong, who was a teammate of SSG last year, was recently notified of his release from 슬롯사이트. First of all, Kiwoom sent a “love call” to Kang Jin-seong, who was interested in the recruitment, and Kang Jin-seong, who was looking for an opportunity, readily accepted the offer, allowing him to extend his career at Kiwoom for the next season.
Now it is Choi Joo-hwan’s future that draws attention. Kang Jin-seong is a “multi” resource that allows first base and outfield, but his main position is the first baseman. The position overlaps with Choi Joo-hwan. Choi Joo-hwan also has a second base position, but recently he focused more on first base defense.
Kiwoom is paying attention to Choi Joo-hwan’s “choice.” If Choi Joo-hwan declares the second FA, it can be read as a willingness to go to the market and find a new team. On the contrary, if the FA declaration is delayed, there is a possibility that he will continue to play for Kiwoom.
As there is still time before the FA announcement, Kiwoom’s infield plan for next season is also expected to change depending on the choice of a veteran infielder with 1,398 professional games-1172 hits-128 home runs.