SEOUL– The NC Dinos signed star outfielder Park Kun-woo to a mega free agent deal Tuesday, prying the veteran from the Doosan Bears.
The Dinos said Park agreed to a six-year contract worth up to 10 billion won (US$8.45 million). He will make 5.4 billion won in total salary and 4 billion won as a signing bonus, and could earn an additional 600 million won in incentives.
Park, 31, has spent his entire 13-year career in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) with the Bears. He made his debut in 2009 but didn’t become an everyday outfielder until 2015.
Since then, the right fielder has been one of the league’s best contact hitters. Among all KBO players with at least 3,000 career plate appearances, Park has the third-highest career batting average with .326. It’s the highest lifetime mark for a right-handed batter.
In 2021, Park batted .325 with six home runs, 63 RBIs and 13 steals in 126 games. He also posted a .400 on-base percentage, his highest since 2017.
The Dinos won the Korean Series title in 2020 but missed out on the postseason this year. Their general manager (GM), Lim Sun-nam, said the arrival of Park should turn the Dinos into a contender again.
Park thanked the Bears and their fans for their support and said: “This was an extremely difficult decision. I want to thank NC for believing in me.”
The Bears have lost a slew of free agents over recent winters. Park has been one of the most popular Bears since becoming a regular in 2015. Last year, they let first baseman Oh Jae-il and second baseman Choi Joo-hwan walk via free agency. Previously, another popular outfielder, Min Byung-hun, and MVP-type catcher Yang Eui-ji also left as free agents.
By signing Park, the Dinos have braced themselves for a likely departure of their own free agent right fielder, Na Sung-bum.
Na, a longtime Dinos franchise icon, is rumored to be nearing a deal with the Kia Tigers, a six-year contract worth as much as 14 billion won.
Though Park isn’t close to being the power hitter that Na is — this year, Na finished second in the league with 33 home runs and fourth with 101 RBIs — Park is one year younger and came cheaper than what Na is expected to get on the open market.
Lim, the Dinos’ GM, admitted that the team signed Park as a potential replacement for Na in right field.
“We’ll do our best to re-sign Na Sung-bum, but it’s not going to be easy,” Lim said. “We felt Park Kun-woo would be the best fit for us. If Na Sung-bum leaves, Park Kun-woo will be our new right fielder. If Na stays, then Park can play in center field.”
As for committing six years to a player who will turn 32 next season, Lim said, “Based on Park’s track record, we could come up with estimates of what he’ll bring over the next six years, and we paid him accordingly.”
Park, who made 480 million won in 2021, is a Class A free agent. That means the Dinos must pay the Bears three times Park’s 2021 salary, or pay them double the amount of Park’s salary from this year and send them a player in compensation.
As for talks with Na, who has been with the Dinos since Day 1 in 2013, Lim said, “There is a gap between what Na Sung-bum hopes to make and what the team thinks he deserves. We’ve tried to show him respect as a franchise star but there was limit to what we could offer him.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency