The NC Dinosaurs announced on Sunday afternoon that they have renewed their annual salary contracts. A total of 69 players will be eligible for renewal of NC's annual salary in 2024, excluding rookies and FA players who joined the team in the 2023 draft.
It is notable that Kim Young-kyu has been paid the most among NC`s non-FA players. He had two wins, four losses and an earned run average of 3.06 at 63 games last year, which helped NC advance to the fall baseball league and make consecutive post-season wins. The 24-hold is the record for the most hold by a left-handed pitcher. Kim signed for 225 million won, up 85 million won, or 61 percent from 140 million won.
Kim Young-kyu, who has settled in the must-win group with double-digit hold and three-point ERA for two consecutive years, will try again to become a starting pitcher ahead of this season. Kim started the season as a starter in 2019, his first season since his debut in the main league, and moved to a relief pitcher. He got the chance to start again in his last game, when he pitched well against LG with seven hits, four walks and eight strikeouts in nine innings to secure a shutout victory. He was described as a pitcher who was born in the 2000s as the first pitcher to win a shutout.
In terms of increase rate, Seo Ho-cheol topped the list of fielders, while Ryu Jin-wook was the top pitcher. Seo Ho-cheol also shot up 75 million won from 45 million won to 120 million won, while Ryu Jin-wook shot up 90 million won from 75 million won to 165 million won.
Seo Ho-cheol played in a whopping 114 games last year, and played more than 100 games for the first time since his debut. In 2022, he had a batting average of 0.287 that easily exceeded 0.205, which was similar to Altoran's in batting average. In the postseason, he became the star of fall baseball with a come-from-behind grand slam that upset the Doosan Bears' 0-3 inferiority in the first round of wild card decisions. As Park Seok-min has retired, this year is the season when Seo has high expectations.
Ryu was strong in silence. He pitched in 70 games this year, leaving an earned run average of one win, four losses, and 22 holds. His earned run average of 2.15 is the No. 1 among pitchers who pitched in more than 60 games and 60 innings. He overwhelmed batters with bold pitches in the postseason, helping NC advance to the playoffs.
Ryu Jin-wook and Seo Ho-cheol made their first annual salary of over 100 million won. In addition, main shortstop Kim Joo-won and bullpen pitcher Kim Si-hoon and Ha Joon-young also made annual salary of over 100 million won. Kim Joo-won signed a contract of 160 million won and Kim Si-hoon and Ha Joo-won signed a contract of 110 million won.
Lee, who was mentioned as a candidate for Rookie of the Year while playing as a starting pitcher in the early days of the season, went up 32 million won from 35 million won to 67 million won (62,000 U.S. dollars). Kwon Hee-dong, who had a single-year contract as an FA and remained at the NC Dinosaurs, renewed his annual contract at 150 million won (53,000 dollars), up 60 million won (59,000 dollars).
On the other hand, pitcher Shim Chang-min, who has not displayed remarkable performance since the trade, was excluded from the annual salary club of hundreds of millions of dollars. He was paid 150 million won last year, but his salary was cut to 85 million won this year. Outfielder Kim Sung-wook, who is about to join the FA, also saw his annual salary cut from 100 million won to 95 million won. 스포츠토토