Meeting for the first time on the 3rd → Kim Jae-hwan is really going to Incheon! Contract with SSG for 2 years and 2.2 billion won
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SSG officially announced the recruitment of Kim Jae-hwan on the 5th. The terms of the contract are up to 2.2 billion won for two years, including 600 million won in down payment and 1 billion won in guaranteed annual salary and 600 million won in options.
Kim Jae-hwan, born in 1988, made his professional debut after graduating from Incheon High School by receiving the Doosan Bears' fourth overall pick in the second first round in the 2008 rookie draft. Since then, he has changed his position from catcher to outfielder, and has made 37 home runs in the 2016 season, jumping to the starting lineup in earnest. In the 2018 season, he hit 44 home runs, the most in his personal career, and won the KBO League regular season MVP.
Kim Jae-hwan, who signed an FA contract with Doosan, his original team, for up to 11.5 billion won for four years ahead of the 2022 season, did not apply for a second FA after the end of this season, causing questions. Announcing the exclusion of Kim Jae-hwan from the list of pending players, Doosan announced that at the time of the FA contract with Kim Jae-hwan four years ago, it included an opt-out clause that would completely release the right to hold in case of a breakdown with a preferential negotiation period four years after the contract period ends. Kim Jae-hwan also chose to go to the market in the end. According to the regulations, Kim Jae-hwan was not allowed to play for Doosan for one year and was able to negotiate with the remaining nine clubs as a complete free agent.
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The SSG club analyzed strengthening the OPS offense as a key task, ranking 8th in the team's OPS league and 7th in the slugging percentage league last season, and comprehensively reviewed Kim Jae-hwan's recent performance, detailed indicators, injury history, and adaptability"Kim Jae-hwan is still the top-ranked hitter in the league with an OPS of 0.783 (0.356 on the base and 0.427 on the slugging percentage) and 52 home runs over the past three years. In particular, if Incheon SSG Landers Field takes advantage of its home stadium with an OPS of 0.802 (0.379 on-base percentage and 0.423 on-base percentage) during the same period, it is expected to rebound from now. In addition, based on tracking data for the 2025 season, the ratio of strong batting is 39.3% and the ratio of barrel (ideal batting) is 10.5%, ranking second in the club, and it is expected to play a key role in producing long balls in the central batting lineup after Choi Jeong and foreign players", he explained.
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The SSG club expects Kim Jae-hwan to contribute to strengthening OPS-oriented offensive baseball by transferring responsibility and know-how in the offensive part to young players as a veteran and will evaluate performance under the same competition as existing players.
Kim Jae-hwan said, `I sincerely thank and apologize to the Doosan Bears fans who have supported me so far. I think this opportunity is the last challenge of my baseball life. I will do my best every moment so that this challenge is not in vain. I will try to show only good performances to SSG fans."
SSG said "The recruitment of Kim Jae-hwan was carried out under a clear goal of strengthening the team's OPS and strengthening its long-range hitting power. While maintaining a competition-based team color for remodeling, it is expected that the veteran's experience will create synergy with young players. The team also saw the possibility because of its strong will to challenge in the new environment."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
