“Korea’s first non-FA contract → 5 years, 6.5 billion won → just 6 wins” SSG, Park Jong-hoon ultimately departs… Mutual contract termination to allow him to find a new team

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The SSG Landers, who finished the season in sixth place, have begun streamlining their roster. Park Jong-hoon (35), who was the first player to sign a multi-year non-FA contract in KBO League history, is also included.

On the 10th, the SSG Landers notified several players that they would not be offered re-contracts and carried out roster adjustments. They conveyed their decision not to re-sign eight players in total: pitchers Kim Seong-min, Kim Jun-young, Park Jong-hoon, An Hyeon-seo, Lee Seung-hun, and Han Ji-heon, as well as position players Park Jeong-bin and Seok Jeong-woo.

Park Jong-hoon drew the most attention. Drafted in the second round, ninth overall pick by the SK Wyverns (predecessor of SSG) in 2010, Park Jong-hoon performed exceptionally well as an underhand starting pitcher.

After recording his first double-digit win total (12 wins) in 2017, he followed up with 14 wins the next year to lead the team to a championship, and achieved 13 wins again in 2020.

However, Park Jong-hoon’s career changed completely after 2021. He signed Korea’s first non-FA multi-year contract for five years and 6.5 billion won in 2021, but after undergoing ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery in June of that year, he failed to regain his previous form.

Over the subsequent five seasons, he pitched in 44 games, covering 182 innings, but managed only 6 wins and 17 losses. Despite continuously changing his pitching mechanics and making relentless efforts, he ultimately could not significantly improve his performance. This season, he alternated between starting and relief roles in the Futures League, pitching in 21 games for 56⅓ innings to record a 1-4 record with 1 save and 4 holds, along with an ERA of 3.51, showing solid performance. However, he did not secure any appearance opportunities in the first division.

Park Jong-hoon wished to continue his active career, and SSG decided to terminate his contract amid a situation where promising young players were rising through the ranks. The club explained, “In order to provide Park Jong-hoon, who has contributed to the team for a long period, with the opportunity and time to quickly continue his active career by finding a new team, we have decided to terminate the contract by mutual agreement.”

Starting with this roster adjustment, SSG plans to continue its roster restructuring work for next season.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original