How much to invest in just one player.
The KBO announced on Tuesday the total amount of money for the top 40 players by club in 2023. This statistic is a reference point for the salary cap. First of all, no team violated the salary cap, which was set at 11.4268 billion won.
The KBO decided to introduce the salary cap system in January 2020 at its board meeting to level the league’s power and ensure its continuous development. It was first implemented in 2023. For the two-year period from 2021 to 2022, the salary cap was set at 120% of the sum of the top 40 salary earners per club (annual salaries, option payments, and average annual contract payments for free agents, excluding foreign players and rookies). This amounted to $11.4268 billion. It was implemented starting in 2023 and will remain in place until 2025.
Doosan had the highest team salary at 11.181 billion won. SSG (KRW 10.8647 billion), LG (KRW 10.797 billion), Lotte (KRW 10.6667 billion), Samsung (KRW 10.4073 billion), and NC (KRW 10.8882 billion) were the other teams with salaries over KRW 10 billion. KIA (9.8771 billion won), KT (9.483 billion won), Hanwha (8.531 billion won) and Kiwoom (6.452 billion won) followed.
Hanwha has the second-lowest salary cap depletion rate among the 10 clubs after Kiwoom.
The difference between the salary cap and total salary is KRW 2,895.38 million. The roster itself has become younger as the team has undergone a rebuilding process, shedding high-paid veterans in the process. 안전놀이터 The number of low-salaried players has increased. Even in the first year of the salary cap, the team boldly signed free agent Chae Eun-sung to a six-year, 9 billion won contract because the salary cap was not a major constraint. Chae Eun-sung’s annual salary this year is 1.8 billion won, and the average annual amount of her contract (3.6 billion won) is 600 million won. Totaling 2.4 billion won. Excluding incentives, Chae Eun-sung’s share of the total is 28%.
However, Hanwha’s investment should be approached cautiously in case of a possible comeback. They need to be prepared in case Ryu Hyun-jin (36) decides to return to Hanwha. This is why they shouldn’t use up any more salary cap space. Hanwha ended the season with 2.895 billion won ($2.9538 million) in space, but the addition of Ahn Chi-hong in free agency further reduced the gap to this year’s salary cap.
Hanwha signed Ahn to a 4+2 year deal worth up to 7.2 billion won. The team will first fulfill $5.5 billion of the contract, including $4.7 billion in guarantees and $800 million in incentives. Then, if the mutual option is triggered, the contract will be worth KRW 1.7 billion, including a two-year guarantee of KRW 1.3 billion and an incentive of KRW 400 million. Immediately, $1.175 billion will be added to the salary cap starting next year.
Instead, the team released 11 players after this season.
Kim Jae-young (53 million won), Park Yoon-chul (39 million won), Ryu Hee-woon (33 million won), Ryu Won-seok (35 million won), Song Yoon-joon (35 million won), Lee Sung-gon (48 million won), Noh Su-kwang (190 million won), Yoo Sang-bin (33 million won), Jang Woon-ho (50 million won), and Lee Jun-ki Shin Hyun-soo (overage players) left the team. Their total salary of 435 million won will be subtracted from the total salary.
For next season, the difference between the total salary and the salary cap is approximately 2,053.8 million won. However, we must also take into account the salary increases of rookie king Moon Dong-joo and home run king Noh Si-hwan, who had a breakthrough performance this year. Based on their performances, a large increase is inevitable. This year, Moon Dong-joo earned 33 million won and Roh Si-hwan earned 131 million won. It’s also time to consider whether to sign them to multi-year contracts.
After all, if Ryu decides to return to Korea
Hanwha doesn’t have a lot of money on hand. Ryu is a valuable commodity, earning $20 million (about KRW 26 billion) in the major leagues this year. You’d have to be prepared to go over the salary cap. The highest salary in the KBO is 8.1 billion won for SSG Kim Kwang-hyun in 2022, followed by Choo Shin-soo (2.7 billion won) and Lee Dae-ho (2.5 billion won).
In Kwang-hyun’s case, the salary cap implications of his return to the major leagues in 2022 meant that 8.1 billion won of his four-year, 15.1 billion won contract was crammed into the first year of his contract. In reality, the highest salary in the KBO is around 2.5 billion won. Hanwha should be able to come up with that kind of money to stroke Ryu’s ego, but I doubt they can. Even if they do, they’ll have to rewrite their salary cap and spending plan when Ryu returns.
For Hanwha, the waiting game continues. For now, there are signs that Ryu could get a major league contract. On Aug. 18, MLB.com listed Ryu as a mid-level starting pitching option. They listed him alongside Frankie Montas, Michael Lorenzen, Sean Manaea, Michael Clevinger, Alex Wood, and James Paxton, saying, “There are some solid middle-of-the-rotation options left.
None of them are flashy names, but they can all help bolster the starting rotation.
Given that starting pitchers of similar age, such as Seth Lugo (three years, $45 million) and Michael Wacha (one plus one year, $16 million) with the Kansas City Royals, Genta Maeda (two years, $24 million) with the Detroit Tigers, and Lance Lynn (one plus one year, $11 million) with the St. Louis Cardinals, have signed contracts averaging around $10 million per year, Ryu could be in line for a deal of this magnitude.
The Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, and New York Mets are the most likely destinations for Ryu, with a projected contract size of one year and $11 million. He’s an injury-risk starter coming off shoulder and elbow surgeries, but he has the tools to survive in the big leagues. ‘He has a history of injuries, with just three 100-plus inning seasons in eight seasons, but he’s remained a surprisingly effective pitcher into his mid-30s. After signing a four-year, $80 million deal with Toronto and posting a 3.97 ERA in 60 starts, the soon-to-be 37-year-old will surely be pushed into one-year free agency and likely end up in the bottom of a postseason contender’s rotation.
For Hanwha, it’s a waiting game. Nevertheless, they can’t afford to make any additional investments. Hanwha has the mindset that Ryu is our player, and Ryu has the mindset that he will definitely return to Hanwha. However, that time could be as soon as next year, 안전 토토사이트 but everything is unclear. Hanwha will eventually have to prepare a room for just Ryu Hyun-jin.