It was after the activation of long-term contracts that the total annual salary of players in the Major League (MLB) began to jump significantly. Clubs needed to offer better conditions than other clubs in order to recruit good players, and started betting for a longer period, taking the risk of long-term contracts. As time went on, the total amount naturally increased.

Here, too, the general opinion is that the beasts are relatively less burdened. Conversely, pitchers say the risk is high. This is because the risk of injury is relatively high. In particular, if there is an abnormality on the elbow or shoulder side, there are cases where one to two years are simply lost. Salary must continue to be paid even during absence due to injury. It’s sweet when you catch a player right away, but if there’s a problem later, you have to drink poison. So, for a pitcher, a long-term contract of 6 to 7 years was literally an honor that only the best players could receive.

In the major leagues, many long-term contracts for pitchers of more than 6 years have been signed, but there are few cases that are ultimately judged to be successful, such as Max Scherzer’s 7-year contract. Most of the players suffered from injuries during the contract period. So there are still not many long-term pitcher contracts of more than 7 years. However, in the KBO league, a bold bet that takes this risk comes out and draws attention. Park Se-woong (27‧Lotte) and Koo Chang-mo (25‧NC) consecutively broke long-term contracts.

Before the offseason began in earnest, Lotte signed a multi-year non-FA contract with Park Se-woong for a total value of 9 billion won over five years. It also far surpassed the five-year, multi-year contracts recorded by Park Jong-hoon and Moon Seung-won (above SSG) last year. Age, performance, and symbolism were all reflected. At the end of the offseason, NC signed a contract with Gu Chang-mo for up to 7 years and 13.2 billion won including incentives. It rewrote the history of the non-FA multi-year contract market. The previous highest amount was 12 billion won for 5 years by Ja-wook Koo (Samsung).

There’s no doubt about the skills of the two players, but there are definitely risks involved given the lengthy contracts. In particular, in the case of Koo Chang-mo, apart from his excellent pitching quality, he has been injured frequently and his military problems have not yet been clearly resolved. Considering that there are several years left until the acquisition of free agency, it is worth saying that NC’s bet was bold. It can be said that it is a contract that includes all salary cap management in the future, and it can be seen as a possible bet because there is a calculation that the principal can be recovered if Gu Chang-mo throws an average of 150 innings in good health.안전놀이터

Park Se-woong’s contract is shorter than Koo Chang-mo’s, but there is a part where future calculations are somewhat complicated in that the military issue is at stake. Park Se-woong was originally scheduled to enlist in the Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu) after this season. While signing his contract, he has been putting off the military for a year, and after his next year, he can’t put it off any longer. If he fails to win a gold medal by participating in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, where even the hosting is uncertain, this five-year contract will also be delayed.

On the other hand, if the two players dispel all doubts and perform well in good health, the pitcher long-term contract market can continue to be lively. It may be difficult to send all of the long contract periods to A-class, but on average, it is a case of performance that matches the amount. In this case, each club has no choice but to think about the treatment and future of the young aces, and it can affect the pitcher free agent market, which continues to weaken.