KBO requests posting from professional baseball team Hanwha infielder Noh Si-hwan to MLB

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jang Hyeon-gu = The KBO Secretariat announced on the 31st that it had requested the American Professional Baseball Major League (MLB) Secretariat to post a post by Hanwha Eagles infielder Noh Si-hwan.

Posting is a procedure that players who do not qualify as free agents must take when entering the MLB with the approval of a professional team.

The 30 MLB clubs can negotiate with Noh Si-hwan from 8 a.m. the day after the MLB Secretariat notifies Noh Si-hwan of his posting until 5 p.m. on the 30th day (US Eastern Time).

Once the contract is concluded, the MLB club pays the transfer fee to the Hanwha club. If a contract is not reached, the posting will end.

In February of this year, the Hanwha club signed a non-FA multi-year contract with Noh Si-hwan for an 11-year contract period and a total of 30.7 billion won including options.

It was the longest and largest contract in history.

Hanwha and Noh Si-hwan also mutually agreed to insert a clause in the contract that would allow Noh Si-hwan to enter the MLB through posting after the end of this season, and that overseas advancement would be limited to MLB, but that the team would remain a Hanwha franchise even when returning to the KBO League.

Noh Si-hwan debuted as a professional in a Hanwha uniform in 2019 and left behind a batting average of 0.267, 153 home runs, and 586 RBIs in his eight-year career until this year.

The door to Noh Si-hwan's challenge to the United States has been opened, but it is unknown whether it will lead to contract negotiations.

This is because the 30 MLB clubs and the players' union are having trouble preparing a new labor-management agreement.

The existing labor-management agreement expires on December 5, and the American media predicts that if the agreement is not signed before then, the major league club will immediately implement a lockout.

Then, all big league administrative procedures such as contracts and trades will be suspended.