Malicious Contract? A Chance to Rebound? '5 Billion Shortstops' at a Crossroads..."It will be there when it is needed," he said, but he has to prove it
Malicious Contract? A Chance to Rebound? '5 Billion Shortstops' at a Crossroads..."It will be there when it is needed," he said, but he has to prove it
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Bad contracts and rebound. What will happen to Lotte Giants' Noh Jin-hyuk and Kim Min-sung.
"We will start the Futures Spring Camp for the 2025 season for a total of 25 days from March 11 to March 7. Like the spring camp for the first team, we will hold the training at Tainan Asia-Pacific International Baseball Center through a business agreement with Taiwan's Tainan City," Lotte said on Wednesday.먹튀검증
There were two most prominent figures on the list of second-tier spring camps. It was Roh Jin-hyuk and Kim Min-sung, the "5 billion shortstop." Roh Jin-hyuk acquired the FA (Free Agent) qualification prior to the 2023 season. Lotte, which had been suffering from shortstop since Dixon Machado left the KBO League, opened its wallet hotly for the first time in a long time and gave Roh a four-year contract of 5 billion won.
Roh's strengths were obvious. He lacked defense among the main shortstops, but his offense was certain. After becoming the starting member of the team that can record double-digit home runs as a shortstop, his batting performance was impressive enough to record an OPS of 0.800 or higher every year at NC Dinos. Lotte predicted that Roh, who is the "medium and long-distance" type, will be able to fully utilize his strengths in resignation.
Given his past appearances, however, Noh has been a huge failure. Since his debut season, he has not played a full-time season due to chronic waist injury, and he played in 113 games with 86 hits, four homers and a batting average of 0.257 OPS of 0.724. In response, Noh vowed to revive in the Guam spring camp in the U.S., and prepared for the season with a special mindset, but the results have not changed.
Rather, his chances for Roh were significantly reduced compared to 2023, his first season as a player. During this time, backup players including Park Seung-wook started to move up, shaking his position. In response, Roh somehow increased his chances to play from the second half based on the "multi-position" he had prepared since the spring camp, but left only disastrous results with 30 hits, two homers and a batting average of 0.291 OPS of 0.604 in 73 games.
This led to this year's spring camp, and Roh will prepare for the 2025 season at the 2nd tier camp instead of the 1st tier team camp. Roh's case shows that even players who have signed an FA contract are not guaranteed a "main competition." In order to regain his position, he must prove his skills.
However, it is too early to be discouraged. As Noh worked hard to rebound throughout the winter, if good reports continue in the second-tier camp, he can try to join the second-tier first-tier camp. It is rather strange that Noh Jin-hyuk does not have a chance when he recovers his existing form from his offense. That is why this camp is more important to Noh than ever. This is because the decision is made between whether it will be the worst malicious contract ever or an opportunity for a rebound.
This is not just for Roh. The same goes for "Veteran" Kim Min-sung. Kim signed a two-plus-one-year contract with the LG Twins prior to the last season and made a surprise return to Lotte through a signature-and-trade agreement. Last year, however, Kim only had 14 hits, two homers and a batting average of 0.200 OPS of 0.678 in 35 games. It is a colder winter than ever for the two veterans, but it is also a winter to overcome.
After all, competition is indispensable when it comes to the title of a professional. This is because competition increases the overall performance of the team. Will Noh and Kim Min-seong, who are at a crossroads, be able to show different performances? First of all, coach Kim Tae-hyung said, "(Kim) Min-seong or (Roh) Jin-hyuk couldn't find their place in the competition last year. Young players have settled down right away. However, as the two players are highly experienced, there must be times when they are needed," he said, leaving open the possibility.