Why is it grade A? Have you seen these unlucky FA's...Lee Jeok has become a story that I can't even dream of

Nov 05, 2025

Why is it grade A? Have you seen these unlucky FA's...Lee Jeok has become a story that I can't even dream of
A game between the LG Twins and the Samsung Lions at Jamsil Stadium on the 20th. Samsung's Kim Tae-hoon is pitching hard. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.20/



There's no such thing as an unlucky FA. Among the players who earned their first FA qualification, there are players who will not be able to dream of moving because they are hampered by grade A.

KBO announced the list of 30 FA players in 2026 on the 5th. Of the 30 people, seven were rated A. These included Kim Tae-hoon, shortstop Park Chan-ho, designated hitter Kang Baek-ho, pitcher Cho Sang-woo, pitcher Seo Jin-yong, outfielder Choi Won-joon and pitcher Choi Won-joon.

Grade A is given to players whose average annual salary has been ranked 1st to 3rd within the club or within 1st to 30th in the league in the last three years among those who have met FA qualification requirements.




Park Chan-ho and Kang Baek-ho were considered the biggest fish in the FA. Park Chan-ho is the league's top shortstop, and his original team KIA Tigers, KT Wiz, and Lotte Giants are preparing to aggressively enter the recruitment war. Kang Baek-ho's recruitment battle is not as fierce as expected, but he doesn't know what will happen depending on the market situation. As Park Chan-ho and Kang Baek-ho are rumored to be worth 10 billion won, grade A is not an obstacle.

Seo Jin-yong is a closer who has 88 saves in his career for SSG Landers, but he twisted last year when he underwent surgery to remove bone fragments in his elbow. He failed to exercise his FA rights after last season, with only 47 innings and a 5.55 ERA. He sought to make a comeback this year, but spent time recovering his speed in the Futures League after playing only two games in the first team. Anyway, there is a high possibility that he will not exercise his FA rights again this year because he has not shown anything in the last two years.

The problem is the quasi-classes. Cho Sang-woo and Kim Tae-hoon, pitcher Choi Won-joon and outfielder Choi Won-joon are all ambiguous players who want to transfer to the batting team at the risk of A-grade compensation. Grade A must pay 200% of the previous year's salary, one player other than 20 protected players, or 300% of the previous year's salary.




Why is it grade A? Have you seen these unlucky FA's...Lee Jeok has become a story that I can't even dream of
The Hanwha-KIA match held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 18th. Cho Sang-woo, who took the mound in the top of the ninth inning, is regretful after giving up a hit to his first batter, Heo In-seo. Gwangju = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.9.18/
Why is it grade A? Have you seen these unlucky FA's...Lee Jeok has become a story that I can't even dream of
NC Choi Won-joon hits in the top of the first inning of the first wild card game between NC and Samsung at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 6th. Daegu=Reporter Huh Sang-wook's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.10.06/
This year's annual salary is 400 million won for Cho Sang-woo, 400 million won for outfielder Choi Won-joon, 240 million won for Kim Tae-hoon, and 225 million won for pitcher Choi Won-joon. Cho Sang-woo and Choi Won-joon have a large amount of compensation, but it is very difficult to tie up 20 protected players. When asked if he should bring the 21st player to the point where he gave up, no one can say yes with confidence.

Cho Sang-woo recorded 72 games, six wins, one save, 28 holds, 60 innings and an ERA of 3.90 for KIA this year. Jang Hyun-sik (LG) left last year and traded to KIA, which was in a hurry to win, and played a pretty solid role, but many say that his ball power has not yet recovered as much as it did when Kiwoom finished.

First of all, the recruitment of Park Chan-ho is in the mood of the top priority, and Lee Young-ha is reportedly receiving the most attention as a pitcher. Lee Young-ha is known to be attractive to the scale of compensation because he is capable of both starting and bullpen, and he is rated B. Right now, Cho Sang-woo is not receiving attention. Still, Cho Sang-woo has room to receive attention from other teams depending on market conditions in the future.




Outfielder Choi Won-joon tried to rebound this year by being traded from KIA to NC, but he left a performance that was not enough to receive special treatment. He only hit 0.242 (100 hits in 413 at-bats) in 126 games, had six home runs, 44 RBIs and an OPS of 0.621. Last winter alone, it was predicted that Choi Won-joon, a young outfielder, would gain popularity, but coldly, he is not receiving more attention than veterans Park Hae-min and Kim Hyun-soo.

Kim Tae-hoon is likely to be the most unlucky A-class FA. Kim Tae-hoon had two wins, two saves, 19 holds, 66 ⅓ innings and a 4.48 ERA in 73 games this year. It is difficult to expect a transfer after receiving an A grade. Even if they apply for FA, they will have no choice but to proceed with negotiations with Samsung, the original team, weighing remaining.

Pitcher Choi Won-joon was a side arm from Doosan's first nomination in 2017 and spent his heyday winning 10 games in 2020 and 2021 in a row. However, from 2023 to this year, the average ERA was only 5.38 in the last three years. He seemed to have found a breakthrough by performing well in the middle of this season, turning into a bullpen and taking nine holds, but grade A is likely to be a shackle.

Why is it grade A? Have you seen these unlucky FA's...Lee Jeok has become a story that I can't even dream of
The game between KIA and Doosan held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 12th. Choi Won-joon of Doosan Bears is pitching. Gwangju =Song Jeong-heon, Reporter Song@sportschosun.com/2025.09.12/




This article was translated by Naver AI translator.