Choi Jung (37) of SSG Landers, who signed an unprecedented "pre-agent contract," could have the first player in the KBO league this winter with a cumulative total of 30 billion won (30 million U.S. dollars).

Choi Jeong's team SSG Landers said on the 4th, "We will guide you on the results of meeting with Choi Jeong today," adding, "We met with the player and talked positively. We want the player to proceed with the FA contract, so we will announce it after signing on the 6th when the FA market opens."메이저놀이터

Since the implementation of the non-FA multi-year contract system, there have been cases of signing long-term contracts before appearing on the FA market, but few have announced the signing of FA contracts in advance. At this rate, the No. 1 contractor in the FA market this year is very likely to be Choi Jeong.

Choi Jeong is a living legend of the KBO League and SSG. After graduating from Yushin High School, he joined the SK Wyverns, the predecessor of the SSG, in 2005, and played for the same team for 20 years until this season, posting a total of 2,293 games batting average of 0.288 with 495 homers and 1561 RBIs, on-base percentage of 0.390, slugging percentage of 0.532 and OPS of 0.922. He has won the Golden Glove Award eight times in his career, and is running toward the best third baseman ever.

He is already in his late 30s, but is showing no signs of aging. During the 2024 season, Choi showed a batting average of 0.291 (136 hits in 468) with 37 homers, 107 RBIs and 93 runs scored in 129 games, and a on-base percentage of 0.384 OPS of 0.978. He was ranked at the top in various categories including third place for homers, ninth place for RBIs and ninth place for runs scored. He has also displayed impressive performance in defense against third base. At a match against Lotte Giants manager Lee Seung-yeop on April 24, he became the most home run in the KBO league.

Choi, who became a free agent after the end of the 2024 season, failed to sign an extension contract during the season. This raised the possibility that Choi could leave SSG. However, the club's commitment was firm. Working-level officials met three times after the end of the season, and in mid-October, they agreed on a three-digit (10 billion won) deal with a four-year guarantee.

"Choi Jeong is a symbolic player of SSG. He is a player that we should go to when we go to the Cheongdam Stadium (to be opened in 2028)," Kim Jae-hyun, SSG's general manager, told Star News in a recent telephone interview. "I will guarantee you four years without fail. If that happens, Choi will turn 41 (at the end of his contract), and given the records and physical conditions he has shown so far, I suggested that he can do this," Kim Jae-hyun, SSG's general manager, said. SSG believes that Choi can play as a first baseman even when it is difficult to see Choi play defense on third base.

This is Choi's third free agent. Having first qualified for the post after the end of the 2014 season, Choi signed a four-year, 8.6 billion won (6.37 million U.S. dollars) contract with SK, which was the largest ever. Since then, Choi has become the home run champion for two consecutive years in 2016 (40 home runs) and 2017 (46 home runs), and has once again joined the hands of SK at the condition of 10.6 billion won (9.6 million dollars) for six years after winning the title in 2018.

Both FA teams produced successful results. He posted records of around 30 home runs every year, and played in more than 120 games every year except for 2015 (81 games) and 2018 (115 games). For SSG, there is no reason not to beat Choi.

With this FA contract, it has been virtually confirmed that Choi Jung-eun will rise to the top in the total amount of accumulated FA. Prior to this season, Yang Eui-ji (Doosan), who received 27.7 billion won (12.5 billion won in four years in 2019 and 15.2 billion won in four plus two years in 2023) from two FA. Kim Hyun-soo (LG) followed with 23 billion won (11.5 billion won in four years in 2018 and 11.5 billion won in four plus two years in 2022), and Choi Jeong-eun ranked third with 19.2 billion won.

If Choi Jung receives 10 billion won as it is now, it will be his second contract of more than 10 billion won, which will surpass Yang Eui-ji at once with a cumulative total of 29.2 billion won. If the total amount is 10.8 billion won or more, he is expected to become the first player in KBO history to surpass 30 billion won in cumulative FA. This is the first record in 25 years since the introduction of the FA system in the KBO league in 1999.

In 2025, FA-eligible players must apply to the KBO to approve the exercise of FA rights by Nov. 4, two days after the announcement, and KBO will announce the players who exercised FA rights as FA-approved players on the 5th, the day after the application deadline. FA-approved players can negotiate for player contracts with all clubs (including overseas clubs) from the 6th, the day after the announcement.