Yang Hyeon-jong signs 1-year deal with Kia

Hwang Jae-gyun remains top free agent

By Baek Byung-yeul

Hwang Jae-gyun

Yang Hyeon-jong / Korea Times files

Free agent pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong re-signed to a one-year deal with his original team Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Tuesday.

The Tigers announced they reach agreement on a one-year contract worth 2.25 billion won ($1.89 million). The contract is comprised of 1.5 billion won annual salary and a 750 million won signing bonus. Yang’s salary was 750 million won for this season.

After spending his entire 10-year career with the Tigers, the 28-year-old lefty wanted to pitch in overseas leagues in Japan or the United States as a free agent. He received an offer from the Yokohama DeNA Baystars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball; but decided to put aside his dream of playing overseas and declared he would stay in the KBO.

“I have never thought of leaving the Kia Tigers, unless I was going to play overseas. I always thought I would play for Kia, and I decided to sign for one year after considering all the various options,” Yang said.

Throwing 200.1 innings this season, Yang recorded 10 wins and 12 losses with a 3.68 ERA.

Yang’s one-year deal with the Tigers means that he can try to pursue a place on a foreign team after the 2017 season.

With Yang signing with the Tigers, 10 of 15 free agents in the KBO have found teams in the offseason. While some of them were expected to ink deals with overseas teams in Japan or the United States, none of them have done so as of Tuesday. The remaining top free agent on the market is third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun.

Hwang was one of the six free agents for whom the Major League Baseball (MLB) requested status checks. Outfielder Choi Hyung-woo, starting pitchers Woo Kyu-min, Cha Woo-chan, Kim Kwang-hyun and Yang decided to play in the KBO. Hwang looks to be determined to ink a deal with major league teams. The 29-year-old had a showcase before scouts from some 20 MLB teams in Florida last month.

While there are no contract offerings from the U.S., two KBO teams have shown interest in him ― Lotte Giants where he spent the past seven seasons and KT Wiz. Both teams are desperate for a solid third baseman.

Hwang returned home recently after training in the U.S. and sat down with Giants management for their first meeting since the offseason began. During the meeting, Hwang said he will keep seeking an MLB contract before considering a return to the KBO. Respecting his wishes to play in the majors, the Giants said they are willing to wait on him.

The Wiz also met with him last week. An official from the Wiz said they didn’t discuss a specific contract, but expressed their strong interest in him.

The third baseman is seeking his second MLB bid. He was posted last year but failed to draw any bids. He posted his career-high record this season, batting .335 with 27 home runs, 113 RBIs, 97 runs and 25 stolen bases.

Players in the free agent market can negotiate with KBO teams until Jan. 15.