"When I look at the future of Hanwha..." Eom invested 7.8 billion won in Eom Sang-baek, and it was not a decision based on his immediate results

"When I look at the future of Hanwha..." Eom invested 7.8 billion won in Eom Sang-baek, and it was not a decision based on his immediate results

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The most obvious way to reinforce power in professional baseball is to recruit FA players. It is the recruitment of FA for the purpose of short-term performance. Hanwha's recruitment of Eom Sang-baek (28) as a four-year maximum of 7.8 billion won (3.4 billion won in down payment, 3.25 billion won in annual salary, and 1.15 billion won in option) on the 8th also focuses on next year's performance.

Hanwha, which ranked eighth this year and failed to play in fall baseball for six consecutive years, did not roll its starting rotation normally. Only ace Ryu Hyun-jin played the regular innings, and the rest of the pitchers continued to come in and out. Both foreign pitchers' positions changed, and Moon Dong-ju, Kim Min-woo and Hwang Jun also failed to play full seasons.

Kim Min-woo, who showed off his strong pitching early in the season, was out for the season after undergoing elbow ligament joint surgery in April, and rookie Hwang Jun-do, who was filling the position, was also out of the rotation in the second half due to poor physical strength. Lee Tae-yang, who played as a starter in the second half of last year, also ended the season early in July due to a bone fracture surgery in his elbow. Moon Dong-ju, who was sluggish in the early part of the season due to poor scapula, was out for the season due to accumulated shoulder fatigue during the semifinal fight in early September.

He was in a hurry to fill two spots in the rotation as a substitute starter, but ended up failing to make it to the next round. If he stays put, things will not look as good next year as well. Even if he does well in picking two foreign pitchers, considering the age of 38 years old, it is not certain that he will play the same full time this year. Kim Min-woo and Lee Tae-yang, who are undergoing rehabilitation after surgery, will also be difficult to come in early or mid next season. Fireballer Moon Dong-ju needs more careful management, and Hwang Jun-seo needs to build a body that can become a full-time starter first.

With starting pitchers needing to be strengthened in any way possible, the team selected Eom Sang-baek as a target for recruitment early on. There was also Choi Won-tae as another starting pitcher, but Hanwha only aimed for Eom Sang-baek. Unlike Choi Won-tae, who is rated A, there were some areas where compensation burden was less with B grade, but Eom Sang-baek, who was able to digest innings well, was needed due to the current composition of the starting pitcher.

"I thought Ryu Hyun-jin came this year and the starting lineup was good, but Moon Dong-ju had ups and downs, and Kim Min-woo and Lee Tae-yang suddenly underwent elbow surgery. As there were many variables, I thought we could go higher only by solidifying the starting lineup," Hanwha General Manager Son Hyuk said. "I brought Um Sang-baek to reflect the on-site opinion. I thought it was the best pick for our team in terms of the present and the future."

The recruitment of FA is aimed at increasing short-term power, but Hanwha's huge investment of 7.8 billion won in Eom Sang-baek is also a decision that takes into account the future mound. "I saw not only next year's performance but also the future," said Son Hyuk, the general manager. This year, we had no choice but to use rookies such as Hwang Joon-seo and Cho Dong-wook as starters. "We had to throw more and temper more at Futures, but we had difficulty fostering them because we used it in a hurry."

In fact, left-hander duo Hwang Joon-seo and Cho Dong-wook played in 11 games and nine games, respectively, in the first and second rounds of this year's Hanwha Eagles. Both of them started off splendidly by winning their debut games, showing potential, but they realized the barrier of professional baseball. In particular, Hwang, who is lean in body, lost weight and speed as he took the mound repeatedly. Although Hwang is a highly technically complete pitcher, he had difficulties physically due to his lack of physical completion. Currently, Hwang is staying in Seosan, instead of the Miyazaki Finishing Camp in Japan, and is focusing on building his body systematically by exercising basic physical strength.

Hanwha also picked right-hander Jung Woo-joo and left-hander Kwon Min-gyu as the top players in the first and second rounds of the 2025 rookie draft. They have more promising pitchers than any other team, and they also have a systematic development system for Futures. However, due to the situation of the first team, young pitchers who were forced to start were in a hurry, and the development steps were twisted. 안전놀이터

With Um Sang-baek's recruitment, Hanwha will be able to strengthen its starting lineup, cope with various variables, and earn time to nurture promising players. "We have recruited a lot of good young pitchers over the past four to five years. The systematic growth of these players and the rotation of military issues will be much easier (with Um Sang-baek's recruitment)," Son said.