Ryu Hyun-jin, Hanwha Eagles Comeback Imminent? “Discussing Return”
The return of Ryu Hyun-jin (36) to Korean professional baseball is becoming a fait accompli.
According to the coverage on the 19th, Ryu Hyun-jin’s officials familiar with the contract negotiations with Hanwha Group, the parent company of the KBO League’s Hanwha Eagles, Ryu Hyun-jin’s original club, indirectly acknowledged Ryu Hyun-jin’s return to Korea.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who played in the American Major League Baseball (MLB), became a free agent (FA) after his team, the Toronto Blue Jays, was eliminated from the postseason in October last year.
Even after 30 MLB teams began spring training, Ryu Hyun-jin was unable to find a new team, so a return to his former team, Hanwha, became a possibility. 파워볼사이트
On the 19th, an unconfirmed flyer was circulated in the baseball world stating that Ryu Hyun-jin had agreed to a four-year contract with Hanwha worth a total of 17 to 18 billion won.
KBS also reported, citing Korean-Canadians, that Ryu Hyun-jin sent luggage stored in Toronto to Korea.
As a Hanwha player who is not a free agent in the KBO League in 2013, Ryu Hyun-jin wore a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform through a posting (private competitive bidding).
If he returns to Korean baseball, he must wear a Hanwha uniform.
A Hanwha Group official acknowledged the negotiations for the first time, saying, “We are discussing a return to Hanwha with Ryu Hyun-jin,” and “However, the negotiations have not been finalized.”
An official from Ryu Hyun-jin’s side also said, “We did not receive contract offers worth more than $10 million per year on average from major league clubs this winter, and during this process, Ryu Hyun-jin considered returning to the KBO League.”
At the same time, he added, “Ryu Hyun-jin’s pride must have been hurt.
Those around him recommended that he play in the United States for one to two more years, but his return to Korea served as an opportunity for him to put more weight into it.”
It is known that the Hanwha Eagles team has delivered the specific contract amount to Ryu Hyun-jin, so only Ryu Hyun-jin’s final decision remains until his return.
However, Ryu Hyun-jin appears to be weighing whether to stay in the big league or return to the KBO league.
Hanwha’s position is that it can wait until March for Ryu Hyun-jin’s return.
An official from the Hanwha club explained, “Even if a contract is agreed upon,
it is not a situation in which (the contract) can be carried out within a day or two because there are still administrative procedures such as identity verification by the MLB Secretariat and lifting of arbitrary termination.”