U.S. media pays attention to Ham Deok-ju's renewal of LG "Candidate to enter MLB in 2028"

Left-hander Ham Deok-ju 28 has renewed his contract with the LG Twins, his original team, in the U.S. The local media also praised Ham as a candidate to leap to the U.S. Major League Baseball MLB in 2028.

MLB Trade Lumus MLBTR, which deals with MLB transfer news, reported an article titled "KBO League LG has renewed its contract with Ham Deok-ju" on the 25th Korean time. MLBTR said, "Left-hander Ham Deok-ju signed a four-year contract with LG for close to $2.9 million, which includes incentives."

The reason why I was interested in the news of Ham Deok-ju's renewal in the U.S. is that I had a history of receiving an identity inquiry request from MLB. The Korea Baseball Organization KBO said on the 30th of last month, "I received a request for an identification inquiry on LG Ham Deok-ju from the MLB Secretariat, and informed me that the player is a free agent FA who can sign contracts with all clubs including overseas clubs."

MLBTR also announced, "Ham Deok-ju sought to enter MLB as MLB requested identification from the KBO League." "This procedure indicates that the big league team is interested in Ham Deok-ju," he said, adding, "As a result, no deal was made and Ham Deok-ju decided to stay with LG."

Regarding the reason why the contract was not signed with the big league team, he analyzed, "Ham Deok-joo may have preferred a four-year contract rather than signing a one-year contract with the MLB team for a small amount of money or an unguaranteed amount."

Ham has played his role as a key resource for LG's bullpen this season. He pitched 55 ⅔ innings in 57 games during the 2023 season, recording four wins, four saves, 16 holds and an ERA of 1.62. He also garnered one win and an ERA of 2.70 during three ⅓ innings in four games, contributing significantly to LG's first win in 29 years.

Ham Deok-ju became a free agent after his contract with LG ended after this season. Due to his performance this season, he was also considered one of the FA market pitchers in the off-season. The fact that he is still in his 20s also contributed to Ham Deok-ju's stock price rise.

MLBTR also took note of this. Listing Ham's season record, the media outlet said, "It helped LG win the third Korean Series title ever. With 11 seasons of experience in the KBO league, Ham could have signed with a big league team without posting fees." 안전놀이터 추천

"A four-year contract has closed Ham's chances of entering the big leagues in the near future," he said. "At the end of the contract, Ham will be 33 years old. He will be a candidate for MLB in 2028."