*This content was translated by AI.
Yang Soo-ho (20), who changed his uniform from the KIA Tigers to the Hanwha Eagles during spring camp, will say goodbye to the KIA team today (30th). He didn't forget to say goodbye to KIA fans.
Hanwha Eagles said on the 29th, "We appointed right-hander Yang Soo-ho as a compensation player for Kim Bum-soo, who transferred to KIA after becoming a free agent (FA)."
After Hanwha's official announcement, Star News was able to hear Yang Soo-ho's feelings through a phone call with an KIA official. Yang Soo-ho introduced himself through the KIA club, saying, "I'm Yang Soo-ho, who moved to Hanwha this time," and then said, "I'll work hard at Hanwha and show you a good performance."
"As a member of KIA, although I couldn't play in the first team, I appreciated your interest," he said. "I'm leaving for another team (Hanwha), but I'll also support KIA." Thank you," he said, leaving a fond farewell.
In fact, Yang Soo-ho was sweating in Amami-Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, where KIA camp is currently set up, as he was included in KIA's first spring camp list (48 people in total). However, with Hanwha's choice, Yang Soo-ho immediately went home. According to KIA officials, the 29th was a day off, so they could not immediately exchange greetings with the team. And on the 30th, he will officially say goodbye to the KIA coaching staff and the team at the training site.
Earlier, KIA signed an FA contract with Kim Bum-soo for a total of 2 billion won, including a three-year contract period, 500 million won in down payment, 1.2 billion won in annual salary and 300 million won in incentives, before leaving for spring camp in Japan.
Kim Bum-soo joined Hanwha as the first designated player in 2015 and has taken the mound in 481 games in 11 seasons until last season, marking 27 wins, 47 losses, 5 saves, 72 holds, 484 strikeouts, and a 5.18 ERA. Above all, he performed well last season and made a great contribution to Hanwha's runner-up. In the 2025 season, Kim Bum-soo pitched in 73 games and recorded a good performance of 2-1 with 2 saves, 6 holds, 41 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.25 in a total of 48 innings.
Kim Bum-soo was in FAB grade. Teams that have left Grade B can collect "one compensation player other than the 25-member protection list and 100% of the 2025 salary" or "200% of the 2025 salary without compensation players" from the recruiting team. Kim Bum-soo's salary in 2025 is 143 million won, which is not a large amount from the club's point of view.
In accordance with Article 172, Paragraph 8 of the KBO Code, FA in the previous year, foreign players, FA compensation transfer players in the previous year, rookie players in the current year (including foster players), and military suspension players are automatically protected.
The FA contract between Kim Bum-soo and KIA was announced to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on the 23rd. According to regulations, clubs that have recruited FA players must deliver a list of compensation players to the original team within three days after the announcement. KIA passed the list of 25 protected players on the 26th. And the club that received the list had to make a decision within three days, and Hanwha announced it on the 29th after filling three days after repeatedly struggling.
A lot of attention was paid to Hanwha's nomination as a compensation player. The position Hanwha needs right now is center field. Hanwha has not been able to find the center field resources that it has firmly established. He said goodbye to Luis Liberato, who played center field last season as he rekindled his relationship with Peraza ahead of this season. First of all, Peraza and Moon Hyun-bin are evaluated as more suitable positions for corner outfielders. Accordingly, Lee Jin-young, Lee Won-seok, and rookie Oh Jae-won in the first round are also mentioned as candidates for center field.
On top of that, Hanwha sent Han Seung-hyuk to KT Wiz and Kim Bum-soo to KIA, so bullpen resources were also needed. On top of that, the two foreign one-two punches, Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss, and the so-called "Phone and Duo," left, creating variables on the mound this season. As a result, some analysts said that it might immediately reinforce outfield or bullpen resources with a sense of power. However, Hanwha broke everyone's expectations and chose a promising fireballer with a view to the distant future.
In fact, Yang Su-ho is still an unfamiliar name to baseball fans. That's because he is a rookie who entered the professional stage for the first time last season, when he has yet to even take the first-team stage. Yang Soo-ho, who graduated from Boseong Elementary School (Daejeon Jung-gu Little), Gongju Middle School, and Gonggo High School, joined the team after being nominated by KIA as the 35th overall ranking in the fourth round in 2025. The down payment for joining the team is 80 million won. The annual salary is 30 million won.
Yang Soo-ho took the mound in eight games in the Futures League last season, marking one loss, one save and a 4.70 ERA without a win. In a total of seven ⅔ innings, he had six hits (one homer), six walks, and four runs (four earned) with nine strikeouts and four runs (four earned) on the ball. The hit rate was 0.231. Hanwha said of Yang Soo-ho, "Last year, we recorded a maximum speed of 153 kilometers and an average speed of 148 kilometers. "I'm evaluated as having a good pitching impact," he explained.
Hanwha General Manager Son Hyuk said, "Yang Su-ho is a fireballer that we have been interested in and have been watching closely since the draft two years ago," adding, "We highly appreciated his future growth potential and selected him as a reward player." "As the club highly values the high point of growth, we expect it to grow into a young pitching pitcher with Kim Seo-hyun and Jung Woo-joo in the future if we improve our complementary points such as physique," he stressed.
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*This content was translated by AI.
