Key players behind Lions' Korean Series title run headline list of potential free agents

Two stars who played key roles in the Samsung Lions' run to the Korean Series title this month headlined the list of players eligible for free agency in Korean baseball, the top league office announced Friday.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said 28 players are eligible for free agency this offseason.

According to the league, 15 players are eligible for free agency for the first time, while six players will hit the open market for the second or third time in their careers. Another seven players had been eligible last year but chose not to exercise their rights then, making them eligible again this winter.

The two biggest names belong to the Lions, with their veteran starter Won Tae-in and captain Koo Ja-wook on the list.

Koo, 33, was voted the Korean Series MVP after batting 10-for-20 with a home run and six RBIs in a five-game victory over the KT Wiz. He has reportedly hired U.S.-based agent Jaron Long in pursuit of a major league opportunity, but the Lions are also expected to try to keep their franchise star around for a few more years.

Koo won his first career batting title this year with a .371 average and also led the league with a .458 on-base percentage.

Won, 26, was the winning pitcher of the title-clinching game as he tossed five innings of one-run ball. The careerlong starter had worked out of the bullpen in earlier games during the postseason before making that start against the Wiz.

Won's postseason success masked his regular-season woes. He went 7-9 with a 4.52 ERA in 26 regular-season outings, posting his worst ERA and fewest wins in six years.

The native of Daegu, the Lions' home city located some 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul, has been a fan favorite since his debut in 2019, and is expected to command much interest in an open market lacking other viable starting pitching options.

The Wiz and the SSG Landers have the most players eligible for free agency with six apiece.

The Doosan Bears have three such players, including sidearm pitcher Park Chi-guk, who has drawn some interest from major league clubs, and catcher Yang Eui-ji, who is eligible for free agency for the third time at age 39.

The KBO said eligible players have until Sunday to exercise their rights. The league will then release the final list of free agents on Monday and they will be able to negotiate and sign with any club starting Tuesday.

KBO free agents are split into three classes based on their salaries over the past three seasons, and different compensation rules apply to each class.

Players ranked in the top three in salary on their team and top 30 in the league are in Class A. If a team signs a free agent from that class, the team must pay his previous club twice the amount of that player's previous salary and send a player not on its protected list, or pay the team three times the amount of the player's previous salary.

Players whose salary placed them between fourth and 10th on their clubs, and 31st and 60th in the league end up in Class B. The compensation rules for acquiring these free agents are as follows: the same amount of the player's previous salary and a compensatory player, or double the amount of that salary without a compensatory player.

Class C features players whose salary put them below 11th on their teams and 61st in the league. Players who become free agents for the first time at age 35 or older automatically end up in this group. Teams signing a Class C free agent only have to pay up to 1.5 times the amount of the player's previous salary, with no need to send any player the other way.