**Why on earth did LG-Lotte sign and trade Kim Min-sung? Is Ahn Chi-hong’s transfer a butterfly effect?**

The final destination for veteran infielder Kim Min-seong (36), who was unable to reach an agreement in free agent (FA) negotiations until the end of January, was not his original team LG, but his home team. It was Lotte. A breakthrough in negotiations was found in sign-and-trade. Lotte needed a veteran to fill the infield gap created by Ahn Chi-hong's transfer, and LG concluded this negotiation at the level of transfusing a promising player.

LG and Lotte issued press releases side by side on the 26th, announcing the news of the sign and trade between the two clubs. FA infielder Kim Min-seong is at the center. LG signed a contract with FA player Kim Min-seong for a maximum of 3 years (2+1 year) and a total of 900 million won (down payment 200 million won, annual salary 500 million won, option 200 million won), and infielder Kim Min-soo from the Lotte Giants. They officially announced, “We conducted a 1-to-1 trade to recruit players and send Min-seong Kim.”

First, LG signs a free agent contract with Kim Min-sung, and then trades him to Lotte to obtain Kim Min-soo. All three parties benefit. Kim Min-seong can receive more than the amount proposed by LG and extend his active duty for up to three more years. If Kim Min-seong was recruited as a free agent, Lotte, which would have to pay compensation to LG for one compensatory player in addition to the 25 protected players, judged that an outflow of players by agreement might be better than an outflow of compensatory players out of its own hands. Instead of giving up Kim Min-seong, LG chose the promising player Kim Min-soo, promising their future.

LG said, ‘Minsu Kim graduated from Jemulpo High School in Incheon and joined the Lotte Giants in the second round of the 2nd round in 2017. Until the 2023 season, he played in a total of 188 games for the first team, recording a batting average of 0.240, 106 hits (3 home runs), 38 walks and walks, and an OPS of 0.630 (on-base percentage of 0.313, slugging percentage of 0.317). In the second team, he played in 304 games and recorded a batting average of 0.293, He recorded 252 hits (37 home runs), 163 RBIs, 126 walks, and an OPS of 0.876 (on-base percentage of 0.388, slugging percentage of 0.488). The club said that Min-soo Kim was a youth representative and completed his military service at the National Police Agency, and his strengths in batting are He explained the background of the trade, saying, “I judged him to be a prospect with excellent handling as a big infielder and decent throwing ability.”

At the same time, Lotte also issued a press release, saying, “We conducted a trade between LG Twins veteran infielder Kim Min-seong and infielder Kim Min-soo,” adding, “Kim Min-seong joined Lotte as the 13th pick in the second round in 2007. Afterwards, he was traded to Nexen Heroes in 2010, and moved to LG Twins in 2019, where he played as a key player. Kim Min-seong possesses batting ability, recording a career batting average of 0.269, 1,406 hits, 131 home runs, and 725 RBIs, and in the 23rd season, he contributed to his team winning the Korean Series. “The club expects that Kim Min-seong, who has a strong sense of responsibility as a professional player and can play all infield positions, will become a leader who serves as an example to the young players,” he explained the background to this trade.

As of the 24th, there were a total of three players remaining in the free agent market, including Hong Geon-hee and Kim Min-seong, and the remaining 16 players had all completed their contracts. Here, on the 25th, Hong Geon-hee broke the market by signing a 2+2 year contract with Doosan, his former club, for a total of 2.45 billion won. Subsequently, Kim Min-seong completed his second free agent qualification exercise through a sign-and-trade method on the 26th, and now there is sovereignty left in the market. It is known that the contract with KT is also nearing completion, raising the possibility that all 19 free agents will complete their contracts before camp begins.

◆ Negotiations with Kim Min-seong, which did not work out well, the sign-and-trade was the answer.

Kim Min-seong, who made a name for himself as a multi-player who played all over the infield after being nominated in 2007, played a salt-like role in the team's infield after transferring to LG in 2019, and won 29 games last year. He contributed to winning the Korean Series for the first time in 20 years. Although his position on the team seemed to be weakening as he only played in 92 games in 2022, he played a significant role last year by recording a batting average of 0.249, 8 home runs, 41 RBI, and OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.703 in 112 games.

What particularly attracted attention was his defensive usage. He occasionally played third base, second base, and even shortstop, contributing to the team's infield rotation. Thanks to Kim Min-seong, LG was able to escape the pressure of having to have multiple infield backups, and this was a huge, invisible contribution. For this reason, LG also believed that Kim Min-seong was still needed more. This was the reason for starting free agency negotiations after the season.

However, it was not easy to find an agreement on contract terms and conditions. Kim Min-seong expressed his desire to remain at LG several times after the season, but LG also had circumstances. There were negotiations for a free agent player named Lim Chan-gyu, and salary negotiations also had to be conducted. This is why LG, which did not have much room in the salary cap, had to first conclude salary negotiations with the winning contributors before deciding how much money they could give Kim Min-seong. Minseong Kim also understood this.

However, there were limits to the conditions that LG could propose. The final proposal was Alpha, which included leader training for a total of 500 million won over two years. It is known that Kim Min-seong was aware of LG's situation and had some degree of sign-and-trade in mind from the beginning of the opening. This was because he judged that he could avoid the compensation barrier and that LG had no particular reason to object. In a situation where things were going like this, Lotte intervened. Lotte also needed more infielders, and paid attention to Kim Min-seong's table, where negotiations were moving slowly. For Kim Min-seong, who was considering signing a contract with LG because the sign-and-trade did not work out, Lotte's presence at the last minute was helpful.

In the end, trade discussions took place recently as negotiations between LG and Lotte and between Lotte and Kim Min-seong broke ground. It was reported that a rough decision was made on the 25th. And then came the announcement on the 26th. It is highly likely that Kim Min-seong expected that he would be able to get more opportunities from Lotte than from LG, as well as money. LG had solid infielders such as Moon Bo-kyung, Oh Ji-hwan, Shin Min-jae, and Austin, so Kim Min-seong was tasked with being a super backup. Lotte also has key players, but they are not as solid as LG. On the surface, it is a club that can get more opportunities.

◆ Why did Lotte need Kim Min-seong? A variable that suddenly appeared.

Kim Min-seong's side also had a sign-and-trade option in mind, but it is known that Lotte's option appeared relatively later. Lotte also did not have the justification to recruit Kim Min-seong from the beginning. The infield composition was also the same. At first base are Jeong Hoon and Na Seung-yeop, who will be discharged from the military. At shortstop, there was Noh Jin-hyuk, who was signed for 4 years and 5 billion won, and at third base, Han Dong-hee, one of the team's most promising players, was making a comeback.

However, it was a concern that Ahn Chi-hong, the team's starting second baseman and key hitter, chose to transfer to Hanwha in this year's free agent market, leaving the second base vacant. Lotte tried to make up for this by giving opportunities to existing resources such as Park Seung-wook and Ko Seung-min while recruiting infield resources such as Choi Hang and Oh Seon-jin in the second draft. Nevertheless, it seems that he pursued this trade because he felt something was lacking.

Lotte's infield traffic control is not yet complete. Unlike Dong-hee Han's outstanding offensive talent, he struggles every year in defense at third base. It is a vicious cycle in which defensive problems also affect offense. Shortstop Noh Jin-hyuk is a player who shows clear skills when healthy, but last year, the first year of his transfer, he had trouble maintaining his health throughout the season. A close race was expected for second base, with a promising player named Ko Seung-min, Park Seung-wook, who showed great performance last year, and a second draft recruit, but in any case, there was no player who could be said to be a clear starter. Kim Min-seong may have given the impression that he is an all-rounder who can step into this position whenever the need arises.

In fact, Kim Min-seong, who seemed to be stuck at third base for a while, played all infield positions last year under the utilization of LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop, who knows him well. He played 280 innings in 45 games as a second baseman, 145 innings in 21 games as a shortstop, 135 innings in 27 games as a third baseman, and 105⅔ innings in 27 games as a first baseman. He was an all-purpose backup, a starting backup player. Lotte also judged that Kim Min-seong would be able to show this kind of utility for at least two more years, and at most three years. Although there were infield prospects, it was difficult to see them as solid cards like Kim Min-seong, and Lotte, which appointed manager Kim Tae-hyung, was no longer a team that was nurturing prospects, but a team that had to look up and run immediately. The prevailing view is that it was an all-in move for grades.

For Kim Min-seong, the move to Lotte is also a new opportunity. In an interview with 'SPOTV News' after the contract announcement, Kim Min-seong said, "LG paid a lot of attention. In any case, the contract was delayed, but if the club had not been considerate, we would not have been able to sign under these conditions and burn the final blow. General Manager Myung-seok Cha “This is a contract that was made possible thanks to your patience and consideration. After receiving the offer, I asked for your understanding that it would not be easy to make a decision because of my second life after active duty. Although it ended in a transfer, I am grateful to LG,” he emphasized, adding, “First of all, Lotte accepted me on good terms.” I needed it. I am grateful to both teams. Rather than talking about the amount, I was in a different position as a player at LG and Lotte. At Lotte, I had more opportunities to play and I was in a position to definitely burn the end of my career. “I decided,” he said, looking back on this transfer

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