said Lee Dae-ho (former Lotte), who retired at the end of this season, out of affection for his former team. After winning the Grand Prize at the 2022 Nutri D Day Ilgu Award Ceremony on the 8th, Lee Dae-ho wrote affectionately, hoping for Lotte to win the Korean Series, which he could not achieve.
The last time Lotte won the Korean Series was in 1992. The Korean series has not even advanced since 1999. It has been 30 years since they won the Korean Series, and they have failed to advance to the Korean Series for 23 years.
Lotte opened its wallet for the first time in a long time this winter. First of all, he tied up local ace Park Se-woong early with a non-FA multi-year contract. It was awarded a contract of up to 9 billion won for 5 years.
When the FA market opened, he actively moved to strengthen the team’s weak position. They finally solved the catcher problem by recruiting catcher Yoo Gang-nam (4 years, 8 billion won).
After Kang Min-ho (Samsung) left Lotte in 2018, it seems that he will fill the catcher’s weakness, which he has not been able to solve for five years. 메이저놀이터 Yoo Gang-nam is young at 31 years old next year, and has worn a catcher’s mask for more than 950 innings for the last 5 consecutive years. He has an advantage in framing.
Lotte then recruited shortstop Noh Jin-hyeok (4 years, 5 billion won). When foreign shortstop Dixon Machado left, Lotte’s infield commander was uneasy. Prior to this season, Lee Hak-joo was traded from Samsung, but expectations were not met. Lee Hak-joo only played 91 games, and was unable to show a rebound with a batting average of 207.
Noh Jin-hyeok recorded a batting average of .28, 15 homers, 75 RBIs, and an OPS of .808 in 115 games this season. He has shown slugging power of double-digit home runs four times in the last five years, including his first 20 home runs in his debut in 2020. He is also recognized for his solid defensive skills.
Before the 2016 season, Lotte recruited closer Son Seung-rak (4 years, 6 billion won) and bullpen pitcher Yoon Gil-hyeon (4 years, 3.8 billion won) from outside, and then brought in two free agents from outside after 7 years. It was an active investment.
21 people applied for the FA market this winter. Up to 3 outside free agents can be recruited per team. In other words, after Kangnam Yoo and Jinhyeok Noh, Lotte may recruit a third free agent. If you have the will to invest.
So far, there are seven players who remain uncontracted in the free agent market. Including Kang Yoon-goo (Class C) who obtained FA qualification at Lotte, Han Hyun-hee (A Class), Jung Chan-heon (B Class), Lee Jae-hak (B Class), Kwon Hee-dong (B Class), Lee Myeong-gi (C Class), Shin Bon-gi (C Class) ) is there.
If Lotte, which has reinforced catchers and infielders, is interested in pitchers, there are Han Hyun-hee, Jeong Chan-heon, and Lee Jae-hak. Han Hyun-hee, the only A-class player, is young and has the versatility to be both a starter and bullpen. However, among the remaining free agents, the ransom seems to be the most expensive, and when recruiting, one compensation player can be given in addition to the 20 protected players.
Outfield resources include Kwon Hee-dong and Lee Myung-ki. Lotte has renewed the contract with foreign player Jack Rex in the outfield, and there is also Jeon Jun-woo. Hwang Seong-bin and Go Seung-min took turns playing right fielder after Son A-seop left.
If Jeon Jun-woo is to become first baseman, the more outfield resources, the better. As for outfield resources, Lotte recruited outfielders Ahn Kwon-soo and Lee Jeong-woo, who were released from other teams, instead of free agents to increase their numbers.
Lee Dae-ho said, “SSG was able to win the championship because owner Jung Yong-jin invested a lot. To be honest, Lotte should make more bold investments. I spent a lot of money, but I could have gotten a better player.”
Even at his retirement ceremony, Lee Dae-ho mentioned the names of franchise stars who left Lotte, such as Kang Min-ho and Son Ah-seop, and asked for active investment in the Lotte team.