"I'm signing Yong-gyu."

It was the end of November. Shortly after the second round of the draft, I spoke with Kiwoom Heroes general manager Ko Hyung-wook on the phone. Among the veterans who were eligible for free agency, Yong-kyu (38) did not exercise his eligibility, while Lim Chang-min and Lee Ji-young did. He also respected Lim Chang-min's (38) and Lee Ji-young's (37) requests for free agency.

Kiwoom, along with the Hanwha Eagles, is the youngest team in the league, but there is a clear culture of veteran respect from the 2022-2023 offseason to this 2023-2024 offseason. In fact, the team brought in a number of free agents from other teams, including Lim Chang-min, and acquired Lee Hyung-jong (34) and Won Jong-hyun (36) in free agency.

Earlier this season, the team acquired Lee Won-seok (37) via trade and then signed him to a 2+1 year, 1 billion won extension in the middle of the season. In the second round of the draft last month, they took Choi Joo-hwan (35) with the No. 1 overall pick. They even tried to sign Seo Gun-chang (34), who was recently released by the LG Twins.

Of course, most of the players they acquired a year ago were released after this season. Even so, the organization's behavior in the past year or two has certainly been different. In the past, Kiwoom was generally cold to veterans. It's common for clubs to favor younger players. However, Kiwoom's culture has been a bit more aggressive in favoring younger players.

To this day, Kiwoom boldly puts younger players in the first team to see what they can do, sends them back to the second team to improve, and then puts them back in the first team. Roster changes are frequent. It seems unstable in terms of stability, but it's ideal in terms of creating endless tension and motivation. 카지노사이트777

Recently, however, that tension and motivation have been given to the veterans as well as the younger players. When Ko Hyung-wook brought up Lee Yong-kyu, he categorized him as a contract candidate and said he had a lot of work to do. It's true that there are higher expectations for leadership off the field. Yong-kyu is not the same player he was in the past with the KIA Tigers and Hanwha Eagles.

But it also means that they still recognize his value as a player. In fact, Kiwoom has a lot of players who are less valuable in the outfield than in the infield. This is especially true now that Lee Jung-hoo has left for the major leagues. Bringing back Seo Gun-chang is also a precautionary measure in case Kim Hesung goes to the major leagues a year later. I think there is still a chance for a resurgence.

There is a light and a shadow to the veteran Jung-yong. Kiwoom suddenly has a lot of veterans, but their individual performances this season have been lackluster. Therefore, I don't put too much value on them. It's true that the team hasn't been aggressive with Lee Ji-young and Lim Chang-min, but salary cap space is a variable. There is also a sense of hope that the veterans will rise somewhat next year. In fact, rebuilding is nonsense in the KBO. It's hard for Kiwoom to give up on next year's performance. In fact, the intention is to retool, but to bring out the best in the veterans. In a way, they are moving towards a true restructuring.