As the KIA Tigers have the league's top bullpen Cho Sang-woo (30) through a trade with the Kiwoom Heroes, it is expected that there will be a dark cloud over the renewal negotiations of the FA Lim Ki-young (31).

KIA officially announced on the 19th, "We made a trade with the Kiwoom Heroes to acquire pitcher Cho Sang-woo by giving 1 billion won in cash and the first and fourth rounds of rookies in 2026."

Rumors have it that Kia, which had already narrowly maintained its lead position in the league last summer, will seek a trade with Kiwoom in order to strengthen its backdoor policy. However, negotiations between the two teams have not been announced until the trade deadline, and rumors that Kia is targeting Cho have ended. Since then, Cho ended the season early due to his shoulder injury.카지노사이트

Meanwhile, Kia ended the season as No. 1 by maintaining its lead without reinforcing the mound. In the Korean Series, the team also beat the Samsung Lions by four wins and one loss, securing its first combined win in seven years.

KIA, whose task was to minimize loss of power in the Stove League in order to achieve the goal of winning the title for the second consecutive year, suffered a huge outflow of power from its bullpen. Jang Hyun-sik, who played a vital role in this year's event, has moved to the FA. His destination was the LG Twins, who competed for the top spot this season.

Jang, who played an important role in the KIA must-win group along with Jeon Sang-hyun, Kwak Do-gyu, and Jung Hae-young this year, recorded five wins, four losses and 16 holds with an ERA of 3.94 in 75 games during the regular season. He also showed stellar performance in fall. Jang, who took the mound as relief pitcher in the entire Korean Series against the Samsung Lions, pitched a total of five innings until Game 5, and did not yield a single point.

While Kia has been suffering from loss of power, its competitors LG and Samsung have aggressively stepped up efforts to strengthen their capacities. Following Jang Hyun-sik, LG recruited "C-grade" FA Kim Kang-ryul, left-hander Choi Chae-heung, and sidearm Shim Chang-min who was released from the NC Dinos. Samsung also recruited Choi Won-tae, a starting pitcher who was considered the biggest FA player, and Ariel Furado, whose suspension was lifted from Kiwoom, to complete the top starting lineup in the league.

We could not just watch our rival team's strength strengthen. Kia recruited Cho Sang-woo, who has one year left to become a free agent, while risking a considerable amount of benefits in return. It was decided that it was necessary to secure a clear bullpen card in order to seek the championship for the next season in a row.

Jo Sang-woo, who wore the Nexen (current Kiwoom) uniform as the No. 1 overall pick in the first round of the 2013 rookie draft, quickly grew into a key bullpen resource with a heavy fastball in the late 150km/h. He recorded an outstanding performance of 33 wins, 25 losses, 54 holds, 88 saves, and a 3.11 ERA in 343 games in nine seasons of the KBO League, and won the title of relief king in 2020 by earning 33 saves (5 wins, 3 losses, 2.15 ERA).

If Cho Sang-woo, who failed to complete the season due to injury this year, recovers his physical condition and shows his form in his prime, KIA has strengthened its power even after filling in Jang Hyun-sik's departure.

The addition of the league's top bullpen agent is expected to affect the renewal negotiations of Lim Ki-young, who applied for the stove league FA. Lim Ki-young played 82 innings in 64 games as a bullpen pitcher last year, recording 4 wins, 4 losses, 3 saves, 16 holds, and an ERA of 2.96, playing as a must-winner and a key player for the team.

However, he failed to take the mound in the first team for two months due to an internal oblique muscle injury early this season, and did not look the same even after his return to the team. Lim, who was not included in the Korean Series entry, ended the season with a disappointing 6-2 record with 6.31 ERA in 37 games, 45 ⅔ innings.

The possibility of Lim Ki-young's transfer to other teams, who has a B-grade FA grade and suffered a sharp decline in ball power due to injury this year, is not expected to be very high. In the end, Lim Ki-young, who is most likely to remain in KIA, has narrowed his position due to the addition of top bullpen Cho Sang-woo amid difficulties in negotiations.