Lotte infielder Lee Hak-joo (33) draws attention by signing a new season salary contract with a performance option contract.
On the 30th, Lotte announced the news of contracts with 60 people subject to annual salary contracts for the 2023 season. In this salary negotiation, Lotte presented performance option contracts to key players in order to strengthen their motivation. Instead of lowering the guaranteed annual salary, it is a condition to increase the amount received when the option is achieved.
There are two players who chose the performance option. Han Dong-hee and Lee Hak-joo. Han Dong-hee signed a contract with a guaranteed annual salary of 1962.6 million won, receiving up to 266.8 million won if all options are achieved. Lee Hak-joo signed a condition of up to 96 million won if the option is met from the guaranteed 72 million won. 먹튀검증
With Lee Dae-ho’s retirement, Han Dong-hee, who is expected to become Lotte’s new No. 4 hitter, is a regular starter. He did not disclose detailed option conditions, but the more business trips he has, the higher his chances of achieving it. On the other hand, Lee Hak-joo’s position in the new season has noticeably decreased, so choosing a performance option is a big adventure.
When he was traded from Samsung to Lotte in January of last year, he raised expectations as the main shortstop. However, he fell short of expectations with a batting average of 2.7 in 91 games (48 hits in 232 at-bats), 3 home runs and 15 RBIs with an OPS of .565.
In the end, Lotte recruited Roh Jin-hyeok for 4 years and 5 billion won as a shortstop resource in the FA market this winter. Noh Jin-hyeok, who also saw third baseman in NC, but in Lotte where Han Dong-hee is, the proportion of shortstop increases. For Lee Hak-joo, business trip opportunities have become inevitably reduced compared to last year.
At the risk of releasing the starting pitcher, Lee Hak-joo chose the performance option and motivated himself strongly. If Lee Hak-joo shows competitiveness, the Lotte infield may be reorganized into shortstop Lee Hak-joo, third baseman Roh Jin-hyuk, and first baseman Han Dong-hee, depending on the situation.
Lee Hak-joo, who made his debut in the KBO League after being nominated by Samsung as the 2nd overall pick in the 2nd round of 2019 after going through the US Minor League, received the minimum annual salary of a rookie of 27 million won in the first year. Subsequently, he received an annual salary of 90 million won in 2020, 70 million won in 2021, and 70 million won in 2022. His guaranteed annual salary this year is 72 million won, a 2.9% increase, but if he achieves the performance option, he can reach his personal highest annual salary of 96 million won. The team situation should be right, but it depends on Lee Hak-joo.