‘It’s a shame it’s a B-grade’
Grade B snow.
Catcher is the most important position in baseball, and players are rare. In recent years, finding a good catcher has been described as “stargazing”. As a result, catchers are usually treated well and, as long as they stay healthy, they tend to stay in baseball for a long time.
However, there is one catcher who has been particularly lonely this winter. It’s Lee Ji-young. She’s a free agent for the second time in her career. Free agency is supposed to give players a chance at the big time. But for Lee, it’s a long way off.
She applied for free agency ambitiously, but hasn’t heard anything about negotiations. Her original club, Kiwoom Heroes, is not interested in her. It was already evident last season. The team started to develop rookie catcher Kim Dong-heon as the future of the team. 토토사이트 The plan worked, as he became a gold medalist at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Meanwhile, Lee Ji-young lost her chance. She played just 81 games in the 2019 season, her lowest total since joining Kiwoom.
Now, Kiwoom’s new stablemate is Kim Dong-heon, who doesn’t have to go to the military. So Kiwoom doesn’t have to hang on to free agent Lee Ji-young. However, at 38 years old, Lee Ji-young couldn’t pass up what could be her last free agency. She boldly challenged.
But no team is looking for her.
Or, more accurately, teams want her. But they can’t afford to sign her. As a second-time free agent, Lee Ji-young is a Class B player. Teams that pick up a Class B free agent must give 100% of the previous year’s salary or 200% of the previous year’s salary to the original club, in addition to one compensatory player off the 25-man roster. Lee Ji-young’s salary last season was a whopping 500 million won. It is a huge burden to take a 38-year-old player for a certain amount of money and give him a compensation player. Even if the clubs really made a concession and received only compensation, it would be 1 billion won. The amount of compensation is also too large.
As mentioned above, catchers are rare in the league, and there were definitely teams that tried to sign Lee Ji-young. However, the compensation immediately put them off. “If she was a C-grade, she would have been a lock,” said one club official.
Lee is a catcher who has been recognized for her solid defense throughout her career. She has been recognized for her solid defense throughout her career. She can play for two to three years. He could be a starter on a team with a weak catcher, or a great backup option if not a starter.
However, the current situation is not easy.
Lee Ji-young left the Samsung Lions for Kiwoom in the winter of 2018 in the KBO’s first ever three-way trade. After playing one season with Kiwoom and showing a much different look, she signed a three-year, 1.8 billion won free agent contract with Kiwoom. Kiwoom treated Lee Ji-young extremely well, making her the first free agent signing in the Stobrig League at the time.
But the professional world is scary. When the need is reduced, it becomes relentlessly cold. If you’re in Lee Ji-young’s shoes, you might be thinking, “How could they treat me like this all of a sudden? It doesn’t look like she has many options. If she wants to continue her career, she’ll have to accept whatever terms Kiwoom offers. It’s unclear what those terms will be. 안전 토토사이트 The best-case scenario is that Kiwoom will push for a sign-and-trade with a club that needs her, but it’s unclear how aggressive Kiwoom will be.