"The offseason is important." Hanwha, which spent 40.7 billion won on Kang Baek-ho and Noh Si-hwan, desperately needs pitchers like "Ponce and White"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

"I believe the offseason is important."

Ryu Ji-hyun (55), the newly appointed manager of the Hanwha Eagles, emphasized the importance of the offseason from his first official appearance. Realistically, with 10 billion won spent to acquire Kang Baek-ho and a commitment to pay 30.7 billion won for a multi-year contract with Noh Si-hwan, signing free agents (FA) may not be easy.

Looking back at last year reveals the answer to what is truly more important. For Hanwha, securing proper foreign players is an urgent priority.

Manager Ryu Ji-hyun held his inauguration ceremony as the 15th manager of Hanwha on the 16th at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark and revealed his resolve and vision as the team's new commander-in-chief through a press conference.

Hanwha advanced to the Korea Series for the first time in 19 years last year but fell to ninth place this season, yet he emphasized that he would "build a sustainably strong team." This means transforming Hanwha, which has solidified its image as a perennial bottom-tier team rather than just flashing briefly for one season, into a team that consistently competes at the top.

To achieve this, many things must be changed, but unlike in the past, Hanwha has undergone significant changes to its roster. While previously the team tried to improve performance by replacing only a few players or the manager, it is now achieving a balance between veterans and rookies as players such as Moon Dong-ju, Noh Si-hwan, and Moon Hyun-bin have established themselves as key pillars of the team.

Of course, signing free agents for deficient positions would be icing on the cake. The team had weaknesses in its starting rotation, bullpen, and center field this season, but the starting rotation is preparing for Moon Dong-ju's return next year, and there is Oh Jae-won, a first-round rookie who showed potential before his injury, for center field. Despite some twists and turns, he is expected to compete with Choi In-ho, who finished the season with a batting average of 0.325.

The bullpen has significant holes, but if Kim Seo-hyun and Jung Woo-ju regain their form from last year, the team can find much more stability. Following Kim Seo-hyun, Jung Woo-ju has also been dispatched to Japan's Next Base.

If there is one major change between last year and this season, it can be found in the composition of foreign players. Last year, Hanwha possessed a one-two punch that ranks among the best in KBO League history. The duo of Cody Ponce (Toronto) and Ryan Weiss (Houston) delivered a whopping 33 wins to Hanwha.

The gap with this season was very large. Owen White performed his role adequately after an injury, but his second-half performance was markedly different from the first half. He recorded 8 wins and 12 losses in 25 games with an ERA of 3.98, showing significant instability in the second half (ERA 5.09) compared to the first half (ERA 2.61).

A bigger problem lay with the other foreign pitcher. Wilkel Hernandez left after leaving a dismal record of 3 wins and 6 losses in 16 games with an ERA of 4.92, and Bruce Zimmermann, who came to replace him, failed to generate any power with an ERA of 10.23. Including temporary replacement foreign pitchers, the four foreign pitchers combined for only 12 wins. This is a difference of a whopping 21 wins compared to last year.

The silver lining is that they succeeded in retaining Wang Yencheng, who performed as the best Asian quota player this season.

Although Manager Ryu Ji-hyun emphasized systematic baseball, reality dictates that it is difficult to expect good results if foreign players are not properly selected, no matter how well-organized the system is.

When thinking of the "offseason" emphasized by Manager Ryu Ji-hyun, free agents come to mind first, but sufficient effects can be expected through trades or securing foreign players alone. In particular, recalling last year's Hanwha, it appears that how foreign players, especially foreign pitchers, are selected will make a significant difference in whether the team can immediately aim for postseason baseball next season.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original