The Giants announced the recruitment of Lee Jung-hoo on the 15th (Korea time), saying, “Welcome to the San Francisco Giants.” The Giants have agreed to a six-year, $113 million contract (about 146 billion won) including opt-outs after the 2027 season with Lee Jung-hoo. Lee Jung-hoo will receive $7 million in 2024, $16 million in 2025, $22 million in 2026-2027, $20.5 million in 2028-2029 and $5 million in signing bonuses. At the same time, he said he will donate $60,000 in 2024, $80,000 in 2025, $110,000 in 2026-2027, and $1025 million in 2028-2029 through the Giants Community Fund.
Lee Jung-hoo’s contract was reported by the New York Post on the 13th. However, Lee Jung-hoo only played in 86 games in the KBO League due to his ankle injury this season. The Giants conducted medical tests meticulously. The nightmare of Carlos Correa came to mind last year. The Giants seemed to succeed in signing a 13-year, 350-million-dollar mega contract with Correa, the biggest free agent in the FA shortstop. It only left a physical examination and an official announcement. However, the team found a problem during the medical examination, and the contract was canceled on the day of joining the team.
Lee has raised concerns over his injury history this year. The San Francisco Chronicle, a local media outlet in San Francisco, also maintained a cautious stance, saying, “It was found that the contract has been agreed, but nothing has been officially decided.” Fortunately, no unexpected incident occurred in the test conducted on Friday. As a result, Lee completed the deal at a price that is more than twice as high as his estimated ransom. Early in the opening days of the Stove League, U.S. media predicted that Lee would sign a contract worth 10 million U.S. dollars annually. In the previous posting, Ryu Hyun-jin who entered the Major League had an average of 6 million dollars, and Kim Ha-sung had an average of 7 million dollars. 온라인경마
ESPN predicted a five-year $63 million (about 82.3 billion won), Major League Trade Rumors (MTR) a five-year $50 million, and The Athletic a four-year $56 million (about 73 billion won). Under the Korea-U.S. player contract agreement, the Giants have to pay $18.825 million (about 24.7 billion won) to Kiwoom Heroes. San Francisco has actually invested $131.82 million (about 173.2 billion won). It is the same as Choo Shin-soo’s seven-year signing of $130 million with Texas in 2013, surpassing the highest ransom of an Asian batter.