*This content was translated by AI.
Signs of change are being detected in the negotiating atmosphere of Son Ah-seop (38), the only "free agent (FA) non-contractor." It is news that Hanwha has proposed a so-called "Plan B" while accepting some of Son's demands. In fact, it appears to be an ultimatum.
An official familiar with the transfer market situation told Star News on the 30th, "Hanwha presented the '2nd Plan (Plan B)' to Son Ah-seop." I understand that the second proposal was proposed to partially accept Son Ah-seop's requirements, reflecting that part," he said.
Will Son Ah-seop's future finally change. In fact, not many experts expected Son to be shunned by the market. Son Ah-seop's annual salary last year was 500 million won. The team that wants Son Ah-seop only needs to pay KRW 750 million, 150% of his annual salary, to Hanwha. There are no reward players, but the club's eyes on Son Ah-seop are cold.
Son Ah-seop is one of the living legends of the KBO League. Above all, he is the main character of the KBO league record of most hits (2,618). He dominated the era as a typist. He held the Golden Glove in his arms six times and became the batting king once. He also received the most hits award four times.
Son Ah-seop left the NC Dinos for Hanwha through a trade in July last year. Hanwha paid NC one ticket and 300 million won in cash for the third round of the 2026 KBO Rookie Draft. The reason why Hanwha wanted Son Ah-seop at that time. It was a game changer in autumn baseball.
Hanwha explained, "We made a trade because Son Ah-seop, who holds the record for the most hits in the KBO League and has a postseason OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.008 in the last 10 years, thought it would help him enter the fall baseball league." Son recorded a batting average of 0.263, two RBIs, three runs scored, two doubles, and a batting average of 0.333, three runs scored, and one double in five playoff games, respectively. And he was the runner-up in the Korean Series.
The industry believes that Son Ah-seop is going through a current ordeal due to the lack of long-shot power. Son Ah-seop played in 111 games last season, but had only one home run. Of course, it can be used as a designated hitter, but Hanwha recruited Kang Baek-ho as an FA ahead of this season. It can be said that the positions of the two overlap. In fact, not many teams have designated hitters as regulars. In many cases, they take turns using the designated hitter position as a rest. In this atmosphere, Son Ah-seop was finally excluded from the list of Hanwha's Australian Melbourne spring camp.
Even if the slugging power has decreased sharply recently, not many people think Son Ah-seop will retire as it is. He played more than 100 games from 2010 to last season, except for only one season (2024 season). He also hit .300 for nine consecutive seasons from the 2010 season to the 2018 season, and also hit triple-digit hits for 14 consecutive seasons from the 2010 season to the 2023 season. In the 2023 season, he became the first in KBO league history to hit 150 hits for eight consecutive seasons. In June 2024, he surpassed Park Yong-taek's (2504 hits) record and became the hero of the most hits in KBO history.
His overall KBO league performance in 2,169 games was 0.319 (2618 hits in 8205 at-bats), 182 home runs, 463 doubles, 37 triples, 1086 RBIs, 1,400 runs, 232 steals (72 failed), a ball that fits 41 bodies with 962 walks, 1336 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of 0.451 and an on-base percentage of 0.391.
In the industry, the prevailing view is that Son Ah-seop will eventually remain in Hanwha. Except for the original club, no team has shown interest in Son Ah-seop. Amid the prolonged deadlock, Hanwha seems to have proposed a "Plan B" while accepting some of the requirements proposed by Son Ah-seop. What kind of decision will Son Ah-seop make in a cold market situation. If he stays at Hanwha, he will certainly give good influence to his juniors on and off the ground as a veteran.
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*This content was translated by AI.
