The FA rating system has been a long-cherished wish of the Professional Baseball Players Association. Every winter, 메이저놀이터 even quasi-level free agents are tied up due to compensation for transfer players and compensation money. There were six players who retired without finding a team after applying for free agency.
After raising their voices by pointing out the irrationality for a long time, the KBO Board of Directors accepted the FA rating system in December 2019. The shackles were lifted by dividing free agents by grade according to player salary and age, reacquisition and new status, and differentiated compensation.
Since the FA rating system was introduced in earnest after the 2020 season, uncontracted players, the so-called FA Mia, have disappeared. All 30 FA applicants succeeded in signing contracts, with 16 in 2021 and 14 in 2022. In addition to the 12 A graders, 13 B graders and 5 C graders all signed contracts.
However, in the 2023 FA, there are three uncontracted players by the 16th, which is mid-February. On the 14th, outfielder Lee Myung-ki signed with the original team NC and was signed and traded to Hanwha, successfully escaping from FA loss, but pitchers Jeong Chan-heon, Kang Ri-ho (formerly Kang Yun-gu), and outfielder Kwon Hee-dong have yet to find a team. In the current atmosphere, the first free agent lost after the introduction of the rating system may come out.
Kang Ri-ho, a C-class player, is not burdened with a reward of 109.5 million won without a reward player, but there is no bite from other teams. In addition to the 25-member protected players, B-class Jeong Chan-heon and Kwon Hee-dong, who have compensation players, lowered the hurdles by allowing signings and trades from the original team Kiwoom and NC. Kiwoom decided to receive only compensation (560 million won) for Jeong Chan-heon without a compensation player, but there is no noticeable progress. The situation became more unfavorable for Kwon Hee-dong when Hanwha, which was a leading destination, recruited Lee Myung-ki.
The salary cap and team annual salary cap system that will be implemented in earnest from this year are becoming bad news for FA players. Ahead of the introduction of the salary cap, as many teams made large-scale investments in free agency and non-FA multi-year contracts, many teams lacked free space in the salary cap. Even if it didn’t cost as much as A-level free agents, I didn’t feel the need to recruit them with the burden of managing the salary cap.
Lee Myung-ki, who was signed and traded to Hanwha, signed a contract with the lowest amount among free agent players this time, with a maximum of 100 million won per year. Without that common down payment, the guaranteed annual salary excluding the option of 50 million won is only 50 million won. It was a condition of a whopping 71.4% cut from last year’s annual salary of 175 million won, but Lee Myung-ki, who was in a hurry to find a team right away, had no choice. The other three uncontracted free agents should also lower their expectations significantly. Last year’s annual salary was 280 million won for Jung Chan-heon, 110 million won for Kwon Hee-dong, and 73 million won for Kang Yun-gu.
In the end, the FA rating system proved not to be a perfect remedy for players. The reality has been revealed that if the value of a player is not high or the market situation is not good, there is no choice but to be ignored or criticized. Applying for FA is a right and freedom, but the responsibility lies with the player. Cool self-objectification and prudent judgment have become more important for the next free agent players