Kiwoom posting business, which is comparable to the Japanese team, earned a whopping $42.2 million...If Kim Hye-sung's "this amount" or less, a trade would be better
Kiwoom posting business, which is comparable to the Japanese team, earned a whopping $42.2 million...If Kim Hye-sung's "this amount" or less, a trade would be better
Blog Article
Will the Kiwoom Heroes in the professional baseball league be able to sit on the fence once again? With infielder Kim Hye-sung's posting contract nearing the end, attention is also focusing on how much income his original team will earn this time.메이저사이트
Nearly a month has already passed since the Major League Secretariat announced Kim Hye-sung's posting to 30 clubs at 2 p.m. on the 5th of last month. The deadline for negotiations is 7 a.m. on the 4th, Korean time. If the contract is not reached before the deadline, the posting will automatically be terminated, and the posting will not be made again until November 1.
Kim Hye-sung, who was allowed to post to Kiwoom early before the season last year and prepared to advance to the Major League, did not receive much attention externally during the posting period. There is no noticeable news even after the decision on the future of big-name FA players such as Juan Soto (New York Mets), Max Fried (New York Yankees), Blake Snell (LA Dodgers), Corbin Burns (Arizona Diamondbacks), and Willie Adames (San Francisco Giants).
Kim Hye-sung's name was hardly mentioned by influential media in the U.S. In the early days of the posting, there were articles introducing Kim Hye-sung, but it is not known which team is interested in it and how much progress the negotiations have made. There were only speculative posts on unclear fan sites. According to domestic reports, the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, and Toronto Blue Jays are known as teams connected to Kim Hye-sung.
As Kim returned to Korea on June 23, some raised concerns that her entry into the Major League would become difficult. However, Kim, who received military service as a gold medalist at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, returned to Korea temporarily due to restrictions on her overseas stay as a soldier before completing 544 hours of volunteer work in the sports field. Agency CAA Sports continued negotiations there, and Kim plans to leave for the U.S. again in time for her contract.
For Kim Hye-sung, a major league offer is not a problem. The key is conditions as well. So far, seven players have signed major league contracts through posting in the KBO League, including pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha Eagles → LA Dodgers, six-year U.S. dollars), infielder Kang Jung-ho (Nexen Heroes → Pittsburgh Pirates, four-year U.S. dollars), infielder Park Byung-ho (Nexen → Minnesota Twins, four-year U.S. dollars), pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun (SK Wyverns → St. Louis Cardinals, two-year U.S. dollars), infielder Kim Ha-sung (Kium → San Diego, four-year U.S. dollars), outfielder Lee Jung-hoo (Kium → San Francisco Giants, six-year U.S. dollars), and pitcher Ko Woo-seok (LG Twins → San Diego, two-year, four-year contract period and a total of $30.36 million).
If Kim Hye-sung had been offered a four-year long-term contract with a total of more than $30 million, he would have already stamped it. A lower contract is likely, but the smaller the contract, the less posting income Kiwoom will earn.
Kiwoom sent four players, the most among the 10 teams, to the Major League through posting, earning a tremendous amount of money. Starting with receiving 5,002,015 dollars through Kang Jung-ho in 2015, Kiwoom earned 12,885 million dollars through Park Byung-ho in 2016, 5.525 million dollars through Kim Ha-sung in 2021, and 18,825,000 dollars through Lee Jung-hoo last year. The total amount of posting money amounts to 42,202,015 dollars, or 62 billion dollars at the current exchange rate.
The cumulative posting revenue is comparable to that of most Japanese teams. Even in Japan, which is one level higher than Korea, only three teams earn more cumulative posting money than Kiwoom: the Orix Buffaloes (79125,000 dollars), the Nippon Ham Fighters (73 million dollars), and the Seibu Lions (62,636,111 dollars).
With Kim Hye-sung on the market as the fifth posting player this winter, Kiwoom is expected to earn more. However, given that the deadline is only two days away, it seems difficult for Kim to give Kiwoom as much money as the four players ahead.
According to the Korea-U.S. players' agreement revised in July 2018, Major League teams that sign Korean players through posting pay transfer fees, or posting fees, to the original team. Based on the total amount of guarantees, 20% of the total amount will be given if it is less than $25 million, 17.5% of the amount exceeding $5 million and $25 million will be given to the original team, and 15% of the amount exceeding $9.375 million and $50 million will be given to the original team if it exceeds $50 million.
If Kim Hye-sung signs a $20 million contract, Kiwoom will earn $4 million for posting. Assuming the worst-case scenario, a $10 million contract will receive $2 million in posting fees, and about 2.9 billion won in Korean money. Even 2.9 billion won is not a small amount, but it is a regrettable condition considering Kiwoom's income and expectations for Kim Hye-sung before the season.
If Kim stays in Korea for 2.9 billion won, this is the value that Kiwoom can earn from trade. When Kiwoom sent prospective FA bullpen pitcher Cho Sang-woo to KIA last month, the team received 1 billion won in cash and the first and fourth rounds of the 2026 rookie draft. Kim Hye-sung, who is five years younger than Cho, is much more valuable. The first round of nomination is estimated to be worth around 1 billion won, and if the second and third rounds of nomination are added, the value that Kiwoom can receive as a trade card can be more than 2.9 billion won. For Kiwoom, Kim Hye-sung has to sign a contract of at least 10 million dollars.