KT Park Byung-ho (38), the home run leader in the 2022 season of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), recently requested his release via waiver to his current team. He is reportedly looking for a new team as his playing time has decreased this season.
On the 28th, a KT Wiz representative said, “Park Byung-ho has requested his release through waiver notification to the team,” adding, “Since he is a KBO legend, the club is trying to convince him to stay. At this time, no decision has been made on whether he will be released or not.”
According to the baseball world, Park Byung-ho reportedly discussed leaving KT with manager Lee Kang-cheol and club officials last month after his playing time decreased from this season. 바카라사이트 When his playing time did not increase in May, he reportedly turned to a hardline attitude, requesting to be released through waiver announcement. “We are continuing to persuade and discuss with the player to stay,” KT said.
Park became a free agent in 2021 and signed a three-year contract with KT before the 2022 season for a total of 3 billion won ($700 million down payment, 2 billion won in salary, and 300 million won in options). Despite some concerns about his “aging curve,” Park led the league with 35 home runs in the 2022 season. Last season, he hit .285 with 18 home runs and 87 RBIs, helping KT finish second in the regular season and advance to the Korean Series.
This season,
The final year of his free agency contract, Park has seen his playing time dwindle as he has struggled at the plate. As of Monday morning, he is batting .198 (20-for-101) with three home runs, 10 RBIs, and a .638 OPS in 44 games. Of the 44 games he has played, he has started 23 of them and pinch-hit or played defense in the other 21.
Currently, KT is using Moon Sang-chul (33) as the No. 4 hitter and first baseman in place of Park Byung-ho. In 45 games, 카지노사이트 추천 Moon has 137 hits in 42 at-bats (.307 batting average) with nine home runs and 21 RBIs for an OPS of 0.930.
According to baseball insiders, KT is currently trying to convince Park to stay, but depending on the outcome of the talks, the team is also considering the possibility of placing him on waivers or trading him to another team.
If KT decides to claim Byung-ho on waivers, the team at the bottom of the league will have the first right to claim him seven days after the waiver announcement. The team that picks up the contract will have to pay the remaining salary of about 700 million won in exchange for Park. If no team picks up Park’s contract, he will become invincible and will have to find a new team next year.
In baseball circles,
There is a talk that Park is confident that he can find another team after clearing waivers. There are also theories that there were trade discussions between KT and other teams before Park requested waiver. As of the morning of the 28th, the 10th-ranked Kiwoom, the 9th-ranked Lotte, and the 8th-ranked Hanwha have the priority to take over Park’s contract. On the same day, the baseball world reported that “Lotte, which lacks long balls this season, is interested in Park Byung-ho,” but Lotte said, “There is no truth to this. We don’t think there is a big need to sign Park Byung-ho due to the current team situation.”
The eighth-ranked Hanwha also has a solid batting lineup centered around Peraza and Roh Si-hwan, so there is no need to sign Park Byung-ho. It has been speculated that Park’s hometown team Kiwoom could be interested in the player as they are in last place, 파워볼사이트 추천 but Kiwoom’s team said, “It’s not the right time to comment on Park’s move as he hasn’t been placed on waivers yet.”