Offseason Loose Change

The Joonang Daily's Choi Min-gyu believes that Lotte can't complete a trade because of their foreign manager. I respectfully disagree. Lotte simply doesn't have that many trade chips and they have one of the higher payrolls in the KBO. They don't have much to give away and don't have much room to add salary.

The LG Twins have signed former Chunichi Dragon outfielder Lee Byung-gyu. Lee has signed a 2-year deal and he'll join a very crowded LG outfield. LG started the off season with Park Yong-taek in center Lee Dae-hyeong in left and Lee Jin-yeong cemented in right. Then, they added Lee Taek-geun from the cash strapped Heroes. It's going to be interesting to see how the Twins keep all these guys happy.

The Joongang Daily offered up a solid look at the comings and goings of players leaving for and returning from military service. SK reliever Chae Byung-yong is completing his military service. Chae was last seen giving up a walk-off homer to end game 7 of the Korean Series. I'm guessing that military service is a welcome vacation for the portly pitcher.

The KBO Declares Heroes Debts Paid, Authorizes Trades

The KBO announced that the Heroes had paid their "franchise fees" and could now freely trade off their players for cash. The Heroes didn't even wait until the ink was dry. They announced three trades almost immediately.

Heroes outfielder Lee Taek-keun(.311/.408/467) was dealt to LG for catcher Park Yeong-bok(.357/.400/.357 in 14 AB's), outfielder Kang Byeong-woo(didn't play with the big club) and cash.

Lefty starter Lee Hyeon-seung(13-10, 4.80 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) was traded to Doosan for reliever Geum Min-cheol(7-2, 4.43 ERA, 1.51 WHIP) and cash. I actually like this deal for the Heroes. Geum is a solid reliever who could be turned into a solid starter.

Samsung finally got a legit ace(possibly) in Jeong Won-sam(5.54 ERA in 91 innings and was shut down in July with shoulder trouble). Jeong was dealt for pitcher Park Seong-hoon(5.17 ERA in 31 innings), 2nd baseman Kim Sang-su(.244/.308/.322) and cash. I'm a little upset to see Kim get traded, but a rotation with Yoon Seong-hwan, Brandon Knight, Francisco Cruceta and Jang is a big improvement over last year.

Seoul Heroes in Trade Talks???

Sounds like it.

It appears that the Heroes are shopping outfielder Lee Taek-geun to the LG Twins. The asking price is 2 players(I'm assuming younger players) and a lot of cash. Last year, the Heroes tried to sell lefty Jang Won-sam to Samsung, but the trade was blocked by the KBO main office. Jang struggled his way to 5.00 ERA in only 19 starts during an injury plagued year. Even with his struggles, he would have been better than most of the zombies Samsung was using. It will be interesting to see if this trade is allowed to happen.

Lee posted a .311/.408/.467 line in 456 plate appearances last season. He scored 84 runs and drove in 66. He finished the year with 15 homers and 43 SB's. He's one of the better all around athletes on the Heroes and would likely bring the most back in a trade.

A Trade? During the Season? In the KBO? It's Possible

Here's a translation from the newest member of team TSoKB, Simon. We'll get a bio on Simon later, but for now, here's his first official contribution.

Samsung and Doosan: The First Public Trade Talks.. Why?

Samsung brings up sudden catcher trade proposal to Doosan.

It might seem natural for Samsung to bring up a trade to solve their catcher issues. But a "public" trade is definitely something new. Samsung manager Seon Dong-yeol and Doosan manager Kim Kyong-moon have been discussing this issue very openly. Big trades usually happen behind closed doors, but both managers have chosen to discuss the trade publicly. What could be the reason?

Reason 1: Needs are clearly seen.

Injured Samsung catcher Jin Gap-yong is out for the season with a knee surgery and his back-up Hyun Jae-yun has been complaining of shoulder pains since since July 14th. Hyun caught for Samsung while Lee Jin-yong made his KBO debut. The idea of a trade might have come up here. A target team might have become clear. Doosan had a bad experience with catchers: Chae Sang-byong and Kim Jin-soo. Samsung has left handed pitchers that Doosan may need:Ji Seung-min, Baek Jeong-hyon, Park Seong-hoon. Doosan might have been pleading for help in this game.

Reason 2: A new co-operative relationship between Samsung and Doosan.

These two teams get along very well, in many aspects of the game. Managers Kim Kyeong-moon and Seon Dong-yeol were roomates during their time at Korea University. It's a very close relationship indeed. Kim publicly thanked Seon for advice given during the Beijing Olympics. Samsung was a dominant team in the 2000's and it was very difficult to conduct a trade between Samsung and another team. But Doosan was the exception. In 2006, Kang Dong-woo was traded for Kang Bong-kyu and Kim Chang-hui and and Kim Deog-yun was successfully traded for Cho Hyun-gun.

Reason 3: The idea of a trade has changed.

Both managers may have changed the way they think about trading players. Instead of thinking of a trade as where they accept the leftovers of another team, they are thinking of it as a way to improve their teams. Successful KIA 3rd baseman Kim Sang-hyun is a great example. Players see how he succeeded after his trade and want to follow in his example. Managers see players who may not be sucessful with their teams try harder to get traded so that they may succeed with another team. A trade is now considered a 'favor' and there is nothing to hide.

Unable to Make a Trade, The Heroes Search for a New Sponsor

The way things are run at Heroes HQ, Vandelay Industries is a natural fit for their sponsor. The Vandelay Heroes. Just change the "W" in the logo to a "V" and they're all set.

Let's review. These guys looked awful on the field, lost their sponsor thanks to a corporate game of chicken and now, they can't even make a trade. After a leaguewide protest, the commissioner's office nullified the Heroes trade of Jang Won-sam for cash(3 billion won) and warm body, Park Sung-hoon, with Samsung.

This is the first time in the league's 26-year history that a trade has been nullified. Personally, I'm torn on the decision. I was really excited of at the prospect of having Jang leading the Lions rotation next year, but the trade was fairly one-sided. League integrity has to count for something. If this was a fantasy league, the same thing probably would have happened. 7 of the GM's would have rattled off nasty emails to the commish, while the two involved parties would shrug their shoulders. Finally, the embattled commish would cancel the trade and ask the two parties to try again.

We did get this image out of this fiasco. Jang Won-sam walking around in a Lions jacket. This would be like having Jake Peavy strutting around the South Side of Chicago with a White Sox jacket, only he signs an extension with the Padres the next week. A Naver search for Jang Won-sam, turned up this doozy. Our ace, ladies and gentlemen!

Aaron at the EWC also puts his spin on this situation.

Also, the Lotte Giants will bring back Karim Garcia for another season and the Samsung Lions have re-signed shortstop Park Jin-man (korean only).

Shady Trade?!? What shady trade?

I'm not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, I am thrilled that the Lions landed a legit ace to head their rotation, but I'm worried about what this might mean for The Heroes.

From the article, “If we were desperate for money, we would’ve traded Jang a long time ago,” Lee said. “We fielded about 10 offers for Jang during the season and we mulled over the Samsung deal for a month. The 3 billion won will be used for players’ salaries.” The Lee in question is The Heroes GM. I'm sure the 3 billion will be used for players' salaries. The Heroes will probably have a roster that winds up costing exactly 3 billion won.

The Samsung Lions GM makes me smile. “I know the critics would say we flaunted our wealth to get a player but we showed that trading for a player could be more effective than signing free agents,” Kim said. “This is a win-win proposition for both teams. We have a young, talented left-handed starting pitcher, and the Heroes have some cash.” Sure. Win-win. We get one of the top lefties in the league to head our embattled rotation and the shadiest team in the league gets a few billion won.

Also, The Heroes manager, Kim Si-jin, chimed in with this, "The ownership promised they would not trade any more players for cash and I’ve got to believe them.” He has to believe them because, well, he is stuck leading this motley crew.