Salary negotiations are basically based on how much the players have contributed to the team during a season, but the overall pie is determined by ‘team performance’. This is the same for all 10 KBO league clubs, with only a difference in degree.
No matter how good an individual’s performance is, if the team’s performance is the lowest, the range of increase is limited. If both team performance and individual performance are poor, a large cut is inevitable. That’s why it is said that salary negotiations should also follow the luck of the team’s performance. This is also evident in the reality of Hanwha, which has been in the lower ranks in recent years.
Until the time when money was spent on recruiting free agents (FA), Hanwha’s team salary was at the level of competing for the top spot in the league. However, the recruitment of free agents did not guarantee long-term team performance, and as the rebuilding process began, a significant portion of the team’s salary was lost. And as the bottom line continues, the team’s annual salary is hardly rising.
This is also evident in the results of the 2023 annual salary negotiations officially announced on the 26th. Of the 49 people eligible for contract renewal, excluding free agent players, only 9 had an annual salary of 100 million won, and only two players (Kim Min-woo and Jeong Eun-won) received an annual salary of 200 million won or more. Among the top 20 players, there was only one player, Kim In-hwan, who had a raise of more than 100%.
It gives the impression that the range of salary increase is also limited. Kim Min-woo, who played 29 games last year and threw 163 innings, the most by an individual, earned 228 million won, up 37 million won (19.4%). It is a figure that cannot be said to be high compared to players from other top-tier teams with similar years and similar results. Jeong Eun-won, who played 140 games, also raised 14.3%, which was not high either. It seems that the salaries of pitchers such as Jang Min-jae and Kim Bum-soo, who suffered a lot last year, have risen considerably, but Ha Joo-seok and Noh Soo-gwang’s annual salaries have been greatly reduced.
As a club, it is not good to just save money. Of course, it is better if the players and the team perform well so that the salaries are generous. Hanwha, which has been in a vicious circle lately, needs better results to change the flow of salary negotiations.
Hanwha, which is in its third year under manager Carlos Subero, also started to produce results. In the free agent (FA) market, Chae Eun-seong, Lee Tae-yang, and Oh Seon-jin were recruited to reinforce their strength. Chae Eun-seong is expected to be a central hitter who can hold the weight of Hanwha’s lineup. Lee Tae-yang is an experienced resource that can be used in various positions, and Oh Seon-jin is an infield utility player, which is expected to be of considerable help in strengthening the player base. 메이저사이트
The peculiarity of this negotiation is that instead of the salary increase being limited, an optional salary system was introduced to motivate the players. Hanwha said, “To strengthen motivation, we prepared a standard for selecting options for players with annual salary increases of 100 million won or more compared to the previous year and introduced them into salary negotiations.” Sophisticated customized conditions were presented, and if the option is achieved, incentives in addition to the contractual salary will be paid.”
In other words, if Hanwha’s performance this year gets better, it would have been the efforts of the members, and a framework was established for players to earn more salaries, including options. It is up to the team to catch this. It may be the fans and clubs who are looking forward to the players’ salary party the most.