▲ Outfielder Park Hae-min poses in his new LG Twins jumper after signing a free agent deal with the Korea Baseball Organization club, in this photo provided by the Twins on Dec. 14, 2021. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ LG Twins' new outfielder Park Hae-min (L) shakes hands with the club's general manager, Cha Myeong-seok, after signing a free agent deal with the Korea Baseball Organization club, in this photo provided by the Twins on Dec. 14, 2021. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

baseball-free agent

LG Twins sign free agent outfielder Park Hae-min

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Yonhap) -- The LG Twins announced their signing of free agent outfielder Park Hae-min on Tuesday, as the first big domino in South Korean baseball's offseason market fell with a bang.

The Twins said Park, who'd spent the past nine years with the Samsung Lions, agreed to a four-year deal worth 6 billion won (US$5.1 million). The 31-year-old will make 600 million won each year in guaranteed salary and can make up to 400 million won in total in incentives. More than half of his deal, 3.2 billion won, will come in as a signing bonus.

This is the Twins' first external free agent signing in four years.

In Park, the Twins are getting one of the best defensive center fielders in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Park is also a consistent threat on bases, with 318 steals since his first full season in 2014 ranking him first in the KBO in that category. Park led the league in steals in four straight seasons from 2015 to 2018, and ranked third in 2021 with 36.

In 1,096 career games, Park has batted .286/.354/.388.

The Twins already have a talented leadoff man who plays center field, with Hong Chang-ki having led the KBO this year with a .456 on-base percentage and 109 walks. Hong is a more of an on-base threat than Park, who will likely slot into the No. 2 spot in the Twins' revamped lineup.

Park served as the Lions' captain in 2021 as they reached the postseason for the first time since 2015, but will now don a new uniform for the first time in his professional career.

"I wanted to give myself a fresh set of challenges," Park said. "I will keep pushing myself to become a better ball player."

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