온라인바카라The Kia Tigers have added the catcher they’ve always wanted. The target is 34-year-old Kim Tae-gun, a 16-year pro from the Samsung Lions. The two teams had been in talks since last winter, but it wasn’t until the turn of the year and the middle of summer that the deal came to fruition. Kia’s target was solely a catcher, while Samsung’s initial desire was a young pitcher. However, Samsung’s final choice was Ryu Ji-hyuk, 29, a multi-position player who can play all over the infield. Why an infielder and not a young pitcher?
Samsung general manager Hong Jun-hak (58) told Star News on the 5th, “We pushed for the trade on the field. Considering our team situation, we coordinated (the trade card) and made a decision.”
Earlier in the day, Samsung and KIA announced a one-for-one trade of Kim Tae-gun and Ryu Ji-hyuk. Both clubs confirmed that Samsung manager Park Jin-man (47) personally made the request to Kia manager Kim Jong-kook (50). “I heard that Park Jin-man spoke to our manager, and after hearing the proposal, Shim Jae-hak (51) and the front office thought about it and made the final decision today,” said a KIA official. “That’s right,” Hong confirmed, adding, “There had been talks of a trade before that, but it sank below the surface and then surged two days ago.”
The underwater negotiations between the two teams have been steady since last winter. According to baseball insiders, Samsung’s first demand was for KIA’s young pitchers. Some familiar names were mentioned, but it was a tough sell for Kia. That’s why former team president Jang Jeong-seok refused to make the trade. Even after KIA’s main catcher Han Seung-taek (29) was scratched from the first team due to a side injury on the 14th of last month, Samsung and KIA’s trade talks were reportedly running parallel on Kim Tae-gun versus young pitchers until the end of June, right before the trade.
However, KIA was unable to make any concessions as its pitching staff faltered in June with a team ERA of 5.20 (10th in the league). In the end, the trade was dramatically finalised as Samsung turned to another vulnerable position, the infield, instead of a young pitcher. The fact that Kim Ji-chan (22), the main second baseman, had recently complained of difficulties with his throwing and catching, and was sent to the Future League, also played a role.
“Our bargaining cards were not working well (in terms of trading young pitchers),” said Hong Jun-hak. “There was a part of our infield that was not working as expected. In the case of Kim Ji-chan (who was recently sent down), there was a consensus that we needed an infield. In that situation, we decided that Ryu Ji-hyeok can play multiple positions in the infield and is still in his late 20s, so he has the potential to grow.”As of 4 April, Ryu Ji-hyeok is a force to be reckoned with for Samsung, which ranks last in the league’s 10-team infield in terms of batting average (0.236), on-base percentage (0.315) and OPS (0.643) this season. A graduate of Seonlinjoong-Chungam High School, Ryu joined the Doosan Bears in the fourth round (36th overall) of the 2012 rookie draft before being traded to KIA in 2020. Despite his lack of power, Ryu’s excellent contact ability and vision helped him hit .275 with four home runs, 100 RBI, 123 runs scored, 13 doubles, a .371 on-base percentage, a .332 slugging percentage, and a .703 OPS in 290 games for KIA. He also has a career batting average of 0.271 and an on-base percentage of 0.356, so he’s not just up and down, he’s consistent.
A KIA representative said, “Ryu Ji-hyuk is a very good player for us. He has a lot of versatility and leadership, so we were worried about him a lot,” he said, adding, “Han Seung-taek went down with an injury, and the younger players are doing their best, but they lacked a lot of experience. It’s a trade where you get one and you have to give one, so we had to think about our weakest position (catcher). We all hoped he would go and do really well,” he lamented.
Samsung is fortunate to have Kang Min-ho and Kim Jae-sung, as well as other developing catchers in the Futures League. “We have good catchers in the Futures League,” said Hong. It’s not that we’re not worried, but it’s more of a way to organise the team more efficiently,” said Hong.