Koo Chang-mo (25) continues his trip to Ngu (NC is happy thanks to Koo Chang-mo) with an unprecedented multi-year contract with his team, NC Dinos.
The contract conditions announced by NC on the 17th are divided into two cases, taking into account that the period of obtaining FA qualification for Gu Chang-mo varies depending on the performance of international competitions in 2023. When obtaining FA qualification after the end of the 2024 season, the contract period is 6 years from 2023 to 2028, with an annual salary of 9 billion won and an incentive of 3.5 billion won, totaling 12.5 billion won. If FA qualification is not obtained after the end of the 2024 season, the contract period is 6+1 years from 2023 to 2029, and the maximum annual salary of 8.8 billion won for 6 years, including incentives and the execution of the 7th year contract, is up to 13.2 billion won. . It also included a clause extending the contract period by the corresponding period when enlisting in the military.
With this long-term contract, 안전놀이터 Koo Chang-mo chose the path of an NC franchise star along with Park Min-woo, who signed a long-term FA contract (5+3 years, up to 14 billion won) at the end of last month.
Previously, the highest non-FA record was Samsung Koo Ja-wook’s 5-year maximum of 12 billion won. Among the pitchers, it was Lotte Park Se-woong’s 5-year, 9 billion won.
It is an unconventional contract in many ways, as well as the longest period and maximum amount.
Gu Chang-mo has more than two years left to qualify for free agency. This is unusual considering that a player with one year left in his free agency qualification has signed a multi-year non-agent contract. Besides, Gu Chang-mo has not completed military service.
The importance of Gu Chang-mo’s presence in NC’s future vision is revealed in the contract.
This contract is the NC Dinos’ first non-FA multi-year contract. The NC said, “This was done for the purpose of preemptively securing key selection resources, motivating players, stabilizing the starting pitching staff, and executing a mid- to long-term plan to organize the squad. In particular, long-term contracts for players who remain for more than two seasons until obtaining FA qualification As the first case in the KBO League, the thoughts of the club and the player who wished to accompany the player for a long time coincided, and it was possible to bear the fruit of a long-term contract.”
Lim Seon-nam, general manager of the NC Dinos, said, “I am happy to promise to accompany our team’s franchise player and the league’s leading left-handed starting pitcher, Chang-mo Koo, for up to 7 seasons. Since his rookie days, player Chang-mo Koo has consistently shown serious attitude and sincerity toward baseball. He is a player. He went through a difficult time at one time, but he overcame it with strong mental strength, and this year he returned healthy and led the starting lineup with the appearance of a native ace,” he said. “I do not want to leave room for such a player to transfer to other clubs or overseas. “There have been several changes in the composition of the squad over the past two seasons, and the squad is getting younger. As a key member of the team’s starting lineup, as well as a senior player, I expect him to play a positive role on and off the field in the future.”
Koo Chang-mo said, “I didn’t even think of a multi-year contract, but I’m grateful to the club for suggesting it first. Watching Min-woo-hyung sign a long-term free agent contract, I also had a dream of becoming an NC franchise player, and I think I’m closer to that dream with this contract. I am so happy. I will prove that the club’s choice was not wrong by being a greater addition to the team by taking good care of seniors and juniors on and off the baseball field with a sense of responsibility as much as I signed a good contract.”
In 2015, after graduating from Ulsan Technical High School, Koo Chang-mo joined NC in the 3rd place in the 2nd 1st round.
In 2019, he reached 10 wins (7 losses) for the first time in 5 years since his debut, and burst his potential. It was the first NC franchise left-hander to win 10 wins.
The following year, in 2020, it rose to the special ranks. He played an MVP-level performance with 9 wins and an ERA of 1.55 in the first half alone. After an injury at the end of July, he almost closed the second half of the season, but returned to the Korean Series and led the team to the first combined championship in the history of the club with a brilliant pitch.
However, in 2021, due to injury and surgery, he could not play a single game and had a difficult time.
In the postponed return schedule, Koo Chang-mo, who returned to the first team mound after a year and a half against Doosan on May 28 this season, finished the season in good shape. He announced a perfect revival by succeeding in achieving his second 10 wins with an ERA of 2.10 and 11 wins and 5 losses in 19 games.
He went 46-34 with 4 holds and an earned run average of 3.74 in 163 games over six seasons. Although he had injuries and surgeries, he has been the best left-handed pitcher in the country for the past three years. As long as he maintains his health, he is highly likely to participate in the Asian Games in Hangzhou next year.
Non-FA long-term contracts have been a craze since the end of the 2021 season.
SSG Landers pitched with Park Jong-hoon for a total of 6.5 billion won over 5 years (5.6 billion won in annual salary + 900 million won in incentives), 5 years with Seung-Won Moon for a total of 5.5 billion won (4.7 billion won in annual salary + 800 million won in incentives), and 6 billion won in 5 years with outfielder Hanyu Island (5.6 billion won in annual salary) + Incentive of KRW 400 million) for a non-FA long-term contract. The Samsung Lions signed a contract with Ja-wook Koo for 5 years and 12 billion won (annual salary of 9 billion won and incentives of 3 billion won).
After the 2022 season, the Lotte Giants signed a contract with local ace Park Se-woong for 5 years and 9 billion won (7 billion won in annual salary, 2 billion won in options). It is the highest ever for a pitcher among non-FA multi-year contracts. Park Se-woong is also an unskilled person like Gu Chang-mo.