“They said they’d get back to me by Sunday”
D-day is imminent. The LG Twins’ negotiations with free agent Ham Deok-ju are expected to conclude soon.
General manager Cha Myung-seok met with Ham Deok-joo’s agent on the 9th and exchanged advanced negotiating proposals. LG handed over a concrete proposal. Both the agent and the actor are considering LG’s proposal. Ham got married to Joian on Sept. 9 and went on a honeymoon to Hawaii, USA.
An LG official said, “The player’s side said they will contact us by Sunday (Nov. 17).” It is now time for Ham to decide whether he will accept LG’s offer or continue to negotiate further.
Ham Deok-ju, who is on his honeymoon in Hawaii, will return home on the 18th. If he decides to sign a free agent contract with LG, he will meet with team president Cha Myung-seok upon his return to sign an autograph and take an ‘official photo’. In that case, an official announcement could be made on the 19th or 20th at the latest.
In last year’s free agency market, 토토사이트 LG let go of Chae Eun-sung (6 years, 9 billion won) and Yoo Kang-nam (4 years, 8 billion won) to avoid exceeding the salary cap, but this year is different. “Even if we go over the salary cap, we will keep Ham Deok-ju, Im Chan-kyu, and Kim Min-sung,” said Cha Myung-seok. The same goes for Oh Ji-hwan, who signed a six-year, $12.4 billion extension before the season.
After winning the Korean Series for the first time in 29 years, LG plans to keep its key players in place to build a dynasty.
The team is likely to offer Ham Deok-ju a lucrative deal for his resurgence.
LG acquired Ham Deok-ju in a trade with Doosan to bolster its pitching ahead of the 2021 season. They sent infielder Yang Seok-hwan and pitcher Nam Ho to Doosan in exchange for Ham Deok-ju and pitcher Chae Ji-seon.
In the LG uniform, Ham Deok-ju struggled with injuries in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, he finished 16 games with a 1-2 record and a 4.29 ERA before suffering an elbow injury in May. The elbow injury reoccurred at the end of the season, and she underwent season-ending surgery to remove bone chips from her elbow. In 2022, he went 13-0 with a 2.13 ERA before his season ended early due to injury.
This year, Ham bounced back to become the No. 1 option in the bullpen. In 57 appearances (55⅔ innings), he went 4-0 with 16 holds and four saves with a 1.62 ERA. After not pitching many innings in the past two years, he made frequent appearances this year and was sent down to the second team in late August with elbow fatigue to rehab. Upon his return to the Korean Series, Ham Deok-ju pitched four games, going 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 3 1/3 innings. He earned a save in Game 2, which proved to be crucial for the entire series.
After the season, Ham Deok-ju became a free agent.
Since joining the Doosan organization in 2013, Ham has compiled a career record of 397 games (30 starts), 501⅔ innings, 35 wins, 21 losses, 59 saves, 49 holds, a 3.50 ERA, and 515 strikeouts in 11 seasons.
There was a small twist after the season. In late November, 바카라사이트 Ham received a request for a background check from the Major League Baseball office. The KBO informed him that he was a free agent and could sign a contract with any team, including overseas teams. According to his agent, major league clubs showed interest in the middle of the season when he was healthy and pitching powerfully.
This gave him another option to go to the majors, but his priority was to stay in Korea and re-sign with LG rather than move to another team. LG was the most aggressive, and it was reported that Ham Deok-ju wasn’t too eager to try out for the major leagues.