It’s been a new year, but there are no signs of any significant change in the situation of the six uncontracted free agents. Most of them have not even received a contract offer from their original club. 

Kang Ri-ho (33, former Kang Yun-gu), who played as a bullpen pitcher for Lotte last year, is also one of the non-contractors.

Kang Ri-ho, who made his professional debut after receiving the first nomination from Heroes in 2009, was traded to NC in 2017 and traded again to Lotte during the 2021 season. Lotte transferred the 2022 rookie draft 2nd 4th round nomination rights to NC and recruited Kang Ri-ho.

Kang Ri-ho, wearing a Lotte uniform, recorded an average ERA of 8.44 with 1 loss and 3 holds in 22 games in 2021, and an average ERA of 5.48 in 29 games last year without a win or loss hold.

Last year, Kang Ri-ho played as a left-handed pitcher with Kim Yoo-young in the Lotte bullpen. After the season, Kim Yoo-young transferred to LG as a compensation player by recruiting free agent catcher Yoo Kang-nam. Lotte released two left-handed bullpen players who played in the first team as free agents and sent them away as compensation players.    

Lotte, which needs a left-handed bullpen, has no news of negotiations with Kang Ri-ho. Lotte recruited Yoo Kang-nam and Noh Jin-hyeok from the FA market to reinforce their vulnerable positions of catcher and shortstop. The pitching staff recruited Cha Woo-chan, Shin Jeong-rak, Kim Sang-soo, and Yoon Myeong-jun, who had been released from other teams. As for the left-handed pitcher, there is veteran Cha Woo-chan. After shoulder surgery in 2021, last year after rehabilitation, he started 2 games (2⅔ innings) in the 2nd group. 토토사이트

The current situation of Kang Ri-ho, who declared free agency and is invincible, reminds me of Roh Kyung-eun a few years ago. Noh Kyung-eun, who was traded from Doosan to Lotte in 2016, showed a good performance in the 2018 season. He pitched in a total of 33 games (19 starts) with a variety of breaking pitches and stable pitches, recording 9 wins and 6 losses with an ERA of 4.08. In particular, in 15 games in the second half, he recorded 6 wins and 1 loss with an average ERA of 3.66, which was a great help in the ranking competition.

After completing the 2018 season, Noh Kyung-eun, who obtained FA status, applied for free agency. That year, he recorded decent results, so even if there was no love call from another team, there was an expectation of a free agent contract with Lotte.

However, negotiations with Lotte continued for a long time, and eventually the negotiations broke down and the contract was impossible. Noh Kyung-eun, who failed to sign a free agent contract, spent a season in 2018 wasting time in an invincible position as discussions on signing and trading with other clubs were also fuzzy. With his individual training, he waited for an opportunity even in the middle of the season, but there was no call from Lotte until the end of the season.

After the 2018 season, Lotte, which suffered from starting pitcher problems, signed a free agent contract with Roh Kyung-eun, who took a year off, for a two-year contract period and a total of 1.1 billion won (down payment of 300 million won, annual salary of 400 million won, and option of 400 million won).