SEOUL– The Doosan Bears retained the former KBO MVP Kim Jae-hwan with a lucrative free agent deal Friday.
The Bears said Kim has agreed to a four-year contract worth up to 11.5 billion won (US$9.69 million), including 5.5 billion won in total salary and signing bonus each.
In his 14-year career with the Doosan Bears, Kim has had 201 home runs, 1,008 hits and 722 RBIs in 987 games, batting .296/.385/.537.
The 33-year old slugger was awarded the 2018 regular season MVP title, with the league-leading 44 home runs.
Kim is one of the two Doosan players to hit the open market this winter along with outfielder Park Kun-woo, who earlier signed a six-year deal worth 10 billion won with the NC Dinos.
He thanked the Bears for believing in him and vowed to do his best in the coming years, saying, “I’ve never thought of teams other than the Bears.”
Meanwhile, the LG Twins said it has signed outfielder Kim Hyun-soo, who is a free agent for the second time, to an 11.5 billion won contract that could stretch to six years.
Under the agreement, Kim will get a combined 9 billion won for the first four years, with a two-year option for 2.5 billion won that Kim can pick up in the fifth year.
The 33-year-old made his KBO debut with the Doosan Bears in 2006 and signed with the LG Twins in 2018 after serving two years in the Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies.
He has batted .319/.401/.490 and driven in 212 homers, 1,943 hits and 1,169 RBIs in 1,670 games throughout 14 KBO seasons.
Source: Yonhap News Agency