I applied after much consideration FA received a major reversal, and the unlucky A-class outfielder will be met first

Nov 12, 2025

I applied after much consideration FA received a major reversal, and the unlucky A-class outfielder will be met first
NC Choi Won-joon and Kim Joo-won are watching the game in the dugout side by side at Gwangju KIA Champions Field on the 21st. Gwangju = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.09.21/



Outfielder Choi Won-joon exercised his FA rights after deep consideration. What is the position of the original NC Dinos in a situation where compensation players are inevitably a stumbling block.

A total of 21 FA-approved players announced by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on the 8th. Among them, six players correspond to 'A grade' based on the FA grade system. As Seo Jin-yong gave up his FA application this year, six people, including Kim Tae-hoon, Choi Won-joon (NC), Kang Baek-ho, Jo Sang-woo, Park Chan-ho, and Choi Won-joon (Doosan), applied for the FA as a grade A qualification and were approved.

In fact, the FA market atmosphere is that A-level players are absolutely at a disadvantage. Based on the rating system, A-level FA players must pay 200% of their salary in 2025 and one player other than 20 protected players as compensation players or 300% of their salary in 2025.




The 20-man protected roster is very tight. From the perspective of the recruiting team, the risk to be taken is quite significant because they actually have to give up one first-team player.

I applied after much consideration FA received a major reversal, and the unlucky A-class outfielder will be met first
In the game between Lotte and NC at Changwon NC Park on the 19th, NC Choi Won-joon is hitting. Changwon= Reporter Huh Sang-wook's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.09.19/
On top of that, Choi Won-joon received a preliminary FA premium from his former team KIA Tigers last year, and his annual salary is 400 million won. The team's 'plus alpha' is even greater because the compensation must be paid at least 800 million won and one first-tier compensation player is required.

In the case of Choi Won-joon, who moved from KIA to NC through a trade during this season, he suffered an extreme batting slump this season. As the final performance of the season was also .222 with an OPS of .621, the prevailing expectation was that he would choose to return to the FA again, but Choi Won-joon chose to apply.




The FA is a player's right, so the application itself is not incomprehensible. However, compared to the performance shown before last year, it was also natural to assume that it would be evaluated after raising the ransom a little more.

Choi Won-joon also reportedly applied for FA after a long and deep thought. I am also well aware that there is an obstacle to being an A-level player, but I have calculated that I will be evaluated first.

I applied after much consideration FA received a major reversal, and the unlucky A-class outfielder will be met first
NC won the match between NC and KIA at Gwangju KIA Champions Field on the 21st, 7-6. Choi Won-joon is greeting the KIA team after the game. Gwangju = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.09.21/
Currently, there is not much movement of the team that has Choi Won-joon as the top priority for recruitment from other teams. However, after the destination of the big fish players has been decided, any club willing to recruit additional players can tap the calculator.




Then, what do you think of NC, the original team. NC has no plans to recruit a big outside FA again this off-season. In fact, negotiations with Choi Won-joon, the only internal FA, may be everything.

NC has not yet set up a negotiation table, but will soon meet with Choi Won-joon to find out each other's positions. The current plan is to hear how large Choi Won-joon is thinking of a contract and what parts he is considering.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.