SEOUL– The Samsung Lions announced Friday they have re-signed their own free agent catcher Kang Min-ho to a new four-year contract.
Kang, 36, will make up to 3.6 billion won (US$3 million) in his second straight four-year deal with the Lions. Kang will make 2 billion won in total salary and 1.2 billion won in signing bonus, with another 400 million won available in incentives.
One of the top offensive catchers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Kang batted .291 with 18 homers and 67 RBIs in 123 games this year. He has reached double figures in home runs in 12 straight seasons.
Kang debuted with the Lotte Giants in 2004 but signed a four-year deal to join the Lions as a free agent in late 2017. He became a free agent again this winter, and the new four-year pact likely means Kang will retire as a Lion.
With Kang behind the plate, the Lions boasted three starting pitchers ranked among the top 10 in ERA: Baek Jung-hyun (second with 2.63), Won Tae-in (fifth with 3.06) and David Buchanan (sixth with 3.10).
Kang said his primary goal all along has been to stay put with the Lions. With 290 career home runs, Kang is 25 homers away from becoming the KBO’s all-time leader among catchers, but he said he’s only focused on team goals.
“Those milestones will come naturally as long as I stay healthy and keep playing,” Kang said. “More so than my personal records, I will try to help the team win a championship.”
The deal will take Kang to his age-40 season in 2025, and Kang said it is “a huge honor” to play until 40.
“I really wanted to stay with Samsung, and I wanted to make sure I signed for a long term,” Kang said. “The team guaranteed four years for me, just the way I wanted, and talks went pretty well. Now it’s up to me to stay healthy for the duration of this deal.”
Before re-signing Kang, the Lions added two catchers to their active roster. They acquired a 31-year-old veteran Kim Tae-gun in a trade with the NC Dinos and selected a 25-year-old backup material Kim Jae-seong from the LG Twins with a compensation pick after losing free agent Park Hae-min to that team.
These moves led to whispers that perhaps the Lions were prepared to part with Kang. Now with his deal secured, Kang said he welcomed those moves.
“We’re so deep at the catcher position now, and I’ll be learning from those two,” Kang said. “We’re going to work hard toward the common goal of winning a championship.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency