Son Ah-seop, who ranks third in active batting average, goes to Hanwha...a dramatic agreement on the right to nominate at the trade deadline

Jul 31, 2025

Son Ah-seop, who ranks third in active batting average, goes to Hanwha...a dramatic agreement on the right to nominate at the trade deadline
NC-Hanwha match held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 1st. Son Ah-seop is delighted after hitting a timely two-run hit with one out in the top of the fourth inning. Daejeon = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.1/



Hanwha Eagles finally took out their trade card.

Hanwha and NC agreed to trade on the 31st. Son Ah-seop (36) is leaving for Hanwha.

Hanwha succeeded in reinforcing the itchy outfielder. Son Ah-seop hit .741 with a batting average of .33 (on-base plus slugging) in 76 games this season. He has a career batting average of 320 and ranks third in active batting average after Park Gun-woo and Park Min-woo (NC).




However, its position has decreased a lot recently. On the 28th, NC sent pitcher Kim Si-hoon and infielder Chung Hyun-chang, and received outfielder Choi Won-joon and Lee Woo-sung infielder Hong Jong-pyo as cards from KIA.

Son Ah-seop, who ranks third in active batting average, goes to Hanwha...a dramatic agreement on the right to nominate at the trade deadline
Lee Woosung Choi Wonjun Hong Jongpyo (from left) as NC Dinos. Photo courtesy =NC Dinos
Son Ah-seop and Choi Won-joon are preliminary FA. Son Ah-seop is certainly superior in terms of hitting, but considering his age and defensive ability, Choi Won-joon's card may be attractive for NC.

Lim Sun-nam, NC's general manager, said "This trade is expected to serve as an opportunity to simultaneously resolve the reinforcement of center field and the strengthening of long-range power, which the team has been agonizing over. Choi Won-joon is a player with excellent balance in all aspects, including hitting, defense, and base running, and I think it will be a great boost to the team's powerHe also highly valued Choi Won-jun.




On the other hand, Hanwha stably filled the outfield with Son Ah-seop's participation. This season, Hanwha drew an infield picture when recruiting shortstop Shim Woo-joon as an FA. On top of that, Lee Do-yoon, who played as the main shortstop last year, and Ha Joo-seok, an internal FA, remained, and they have a solid base of players.

The outfield needed to be cleared. Early in the season, the plan was for foreign player Esteban Floral to take the center field, and Korean players such as Moon Hyun-bin, Kim Tae-yeon, Lee Won-seok, Lee Jin-young, and Lim Jong-chan to fill the corner outfield.

At the same time, I looked into the trade. Hanwha has been full of trade rumors throughout this season. Pitchers who can both start and save, veteran pitchers, top-round rookie-level pitchers, and fastball pitchers were listed as trade cards.




Moon Hyun-bin was clearly reborn as the main player, and Kim Tae-yeon helped with a batting average of .400 during the month of July.

The outfield team also began to return stably, but Son Ah-seop, who is guaranteed a batting average of 300, is in a different position. Hanwha ranks fourth in the league with a team batting average of 261 this season. However, there is a risk that there is a clear difference between when it bursts and when it does not explode. Son Ah-seop, who has clear hitting ability, is expected to add enough strength to Hanwha's lead.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.