5 trades in 1 year… KIA, which was the best ever, leaves the general manager and the tone changes?
Suddenly, the head of the front desk was lost. It is highly likely that the direction of the club will also change.
The KIA Tigers dismissed general manager Jang Jeong-seok on the 29th. KIA, who received a report that Jang Jeong-seok demanded ‘back money’ in the process of negotiating with Park Dong-won, started to find out the facts, and eventually “held a disciplinary committee against Jang Jeong-seok, who caused a scandal for his dishonorable behavior, and decided to dismiss him.” announced.
It was last November 2021 that KIA appointed Jang Jeong-seok. KIA was the club that was most active in trade under the system of general manager Jang Jeong-seok. Last year, KIA made as many as five trades.
It started in April of last year. KIA traded with Hanwha on April 23rd. The Kia acquired right-hander Kim Do-hyun, born in 2000, while handing over right-hander Lee Min-woo and outfielder Lee Jin-young to Hanwha. And the very next day, he revealed a trade that would shake up the league. It was a trade to recruit catcher Park Dong-won from Kiwoom. In order to bring Park Dong-won, KIA gave Kim Tae-jin, 1 billion won in cash, and the 2023 KBO rookie draft second round nomination right.
KIA’s trade did not stop. In May, I opened a deal with SSG this time. KIA, which recruited Park Dong-won to build a home, used another catcher, Kim Min-shik, as a trade card, and carried out a trade to bring in left-handed pitcher Kim Jeong-bin and infielder Lim Seok-jin.
After finishing the regular season in 5th place and succeeding in advancing to the postseason, KIA was busy even after the end of the season. It was on November 10th that KIA traded with Hanwha once again. KIA, which agreed on a 2-to-1 trade to exchange two pitchers, including Han Seung-hyuk and Jang Ji-soo, and infielder Byun Woo-hyuk, handed over the nomination right for the second round of the 2024 KBO Rookie Draft, signing Kiwoom catcher Joo Hyo-sang in a trade the very next day.
Only 5 trades were made in just one year. However, as general manager Jang Jeong-seok, who was active in trade, left KIA, there is a prospect that KIA’s direction will change. This prediction is made possible by the fact that KIA has no choice but to be more cautious in appointing a new general manager, and that there are few front desk heads as active in trade as general manager Jang Jeong-seok.
Last year, 9 trades were made in the KBO League. Of these, more than half of the trades involved KIA. Now that it is possible to trade using the rookie nomination, clubs have a wider range of options. Of the 9 cases, there were 4 trades that included the nomination right. However, if the KIA’s stance changes, there is a high possibility that the frequency of trades will decrease throughout the league. 스포츠토토