In the last 10 years, the KBO League has begun to foster, and veteran bullpen pitchers on the mound have been hit relatively hard. The stronghold of a starter is also effective in the market. There is always a demand for quality finishing and bullpen resources. However, veteran bullpen pitchers who were in a daze often tasted the cold wind. Clubs judged that young players could be substituted within a short period of time.
Perhaps this is the case of veteran right-hander Song Eun-beom, who was excluded from LG’s list of players withheld after the 2023 season. After moving to LG in 2019, Song has become a key bullpen in his team. He played in 63 games in 2019 and 56 games in 2020. However, he gradually gave way to younger players due to injury and deterioration in skills, and ended up playing in only four games in the first division this year.
Already last year, young players began to encroach on Song Eun-beom’s position. The club also did not bother to touch that trend. This year, it was virtually excluded from the first division. Instead, other pitchers settled in the first division, and Song’s absence was not well revealed. For LG, which is under pressure from salary cap, the release of Song Eun-beom was a given step.
However, unlike some players who have announced retirement early on after being released from the team and are seeking a different path, Song is still known to have a strong will to extend his mandatory military service. “He is showing confidence in his physical condition,” a source said. “He can throw more than enough, and if there is a vacancy in the process when teams plan their 2024 performance, he could be a good player to recruit in terms of insurance.
Each team has different bullpen conditions. Even if a player is released from LG, which has a good bullpen, it can be an attractive resource for other teams with weak bullpen. These veteran pitchers also have experience. Recently, a growing number of teams have recruited and enjoyed veteran bullpen pitchers released by other teams. There are four big names just in the last two years. It is more than just performance in that it gave hope to players in similar situations.
Right-hander Noh Kyung-eun (39, SSG), who was released from Lotte after the end of the 2021 season, was a player who received attention from several teams right after his release. SSG offered to try out for the team, and signed a contract worth 100 million won (approx. There were criticisms that he treated the released player too generously, but no one says so two years later. Rather, he opened his third heyday and became a pillar of the SSG mound.
Noh has completely escaped the threat of release by throwing 83 innings in 76 games this year with nine wins, five losses, two saves, and 30 holds with an ERA of 3.58. He has pitched 162 ⅔ innings in 117 games over the past two years, and his ERA is only 3.32. He is a key setup man for the SSG mound. 안전놀이터
Right-hander Kim Jin-seong (38, LG), who was released around the same time as Noh Kyung-eun, also proved over the past two years that his value of use remains intact. Notably, his team won the title overall, excelling this year. He performed splendidly in 80 games, recording five wins, one loss, four saves and 21 holds with an ERA of 2.18. He is praised for playing as a shield for young bullpen pitchers as he silently went out regardless of when he took the mound. His performance for two years after his release is 2.59 in 147 games (128 ⅓ innings).
Kim Sang-soo (35, Lotte), a right-hander who was released from the SSG last year, is also a successful case. Kim Sang-soo, who went down a business slump after signing a contract as an FA as a midfielder, signed a contract with Lotte for 110 million won (approx. Again, he had doubts about his annual salary, but he pitched 52 innings in 67 games, recording four wins, two losses, one save and an earned run average of 3.12, which is several times more than his annual salary. It was one of the pillars of Lotte’s bullpen.
Lim Chang-min (38 Kiwoom) was released by NC after the 2021 season and was on a course that was not easy to make a comeback, being released by Doosan after the 2022 season. However, Kiwoom, who confirmed that his skills are still good, gave him another chance, and he succeeded in a brilliant comeback by playing with 2 wins, 2 losses, 26 saves and 2.51 ERA in 51 games of the season. Attention is focusing on whether Song Eun-beom, a veteran who has won 88 games in his first division of the KBO League, will be given such a “opportunity.”