KIA's Shock Trade...9.8 billion → 6.4 billion active batting average. Is it a direct hit by the third-place preliminary FA?

Jul 28, 2025

KIA's Shock Trade...9.8 billion → 6.4 billion active batting average. Is it a direct hit by the third-place preliminary FA?
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/



KIA's Shock Trade...9.8 billion → 6.4 billion active batting average. Is it a direct hit by the third-place preliminary FA?
Lotte-KIA match held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 4th. Choi Won-joon is delighted after hitting an RBI timely hit with two outs and runners on the first and second bases in the bottom of the eighth inning. Gwangju = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.4/
Unexpectedly, 'Big fish FA' is here.

The NC Dinos made a surprise trade on the 28th. Pitchers Kim Si-hoon, Han Jae-seung, and infielder Chung Hyeon-chang were sent, and outfielders Choi Won-joon, Lee Woo-sung, and infielder Hong Jong-pyo were received from KIA.

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 running base, and I think it will be a great boost to the team's power. Lee Woo-sung is a batter with long-shot ability and is a resource that will supplement his long-shot power in the team's batting lineup. Hong Jong-pyo is an all-weather infielder with multiple infield positions, and he is the right person to make the future of the infield more solid."




Above all, NC showed high expectations for Choi Won-joon. Choi Won-joon played in 76 games this season and hit only four home runs with a batting average of 229, but last year, he showed stable performance in both offense and defense, hitting 292 with nine home runs and an OPS (long-base plus on-base percentage) of 0.791 in 136 games. In particular, he played 123 games in 2020 and showed off accurate batting with a batting average of 326.

With three consecutive wins, NC is in eighth place, 0.5 games behind fifth-ranked Samsung KIA SSG. It is also in a position to raise its ranking at any time by a three-game gap with fourth-place KT Wiz.

KIA's Shock Trade...9.8 billion → 6.4 billion active batting average. Is it a direct hit by the third-place preliminary FA?
The game between Hanwha and KIA at KIA Champions Field in Gwangju on the 8th, KIA Choi Won-joon is hitting a double in the bottom of the 10th inning of extra time. Gwangju = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.06.08/
By recruiting Choi Won-joon and Lee Woo-sung Hong Jong-pyo, who are 'immediate power', he once again expressed his will to play fall baseball.




Among them, Choi Won-joon will be eligible for FA after the end of this season. For NC, it is highly likely to watch Choi Won-joon's performance for the rest of the year and sign a remaining contract.

With Choi Won-jun's arrival, NC also needed to organize traffic. Currently, NC has abundant outfield resources. There are plenty of resources to play in the first team, including Park Gun-woo, Son Ah-seop, Kwon Hee-dong, Chun Jae-hwan, and Han Seok-hyun.

Among them, Son Ah-seop will be eligible for FA when he finishes this season. Son Ah-seop signed his first FA contract with Lotte in 2017 for a four-year total of 9.8 billion won, and he signed a four-year total of 6.4 billion won with NC in 2021. Born in 1988, Son Ah-seop, who is in his late 30s, boasts an outstanding batting performance that ranks third in batting average (0.320) among active players this year. He has also maintained a batting average of .300 in 76 games this season, but was excluded from the entry on the 24th due to a side injury.




For NC, the options have expanded. In the FA market, Choi Won-joon and Son Ah-seop can be weighed. Choi Won-joon is superior in defense, and Son Ah-seop is better in attack.

KIA's Shock Trade...9.8 billion → 6.4 billion active batting average. Is it a direct hit by the third-place preliminary FA?
In the second game of a doubleheader between NC and Doosan at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 11th, NC Son Ah-seop is happy after hitting a double in the top of the first inning. Jamsil= Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.05.11/
Son Ah-seop, who will be eligible for the third FA, is a C-level player who does not need a compensation player. Even if it is not NC, it can be attractive enough for teams that need to reinforce the outfield. However, when there is interest from the original team and when there is no interest, the atmosphere of negotiations itself is inevitably different.

NC will start a new outfield test by registering both Lee Woo-sung and Choi Won-joon on the 28th, when there is no game.

Reporter Lee Jong-seo bellstop@sportschosun.com



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.