It takes longer than expected. There is still no news of SSG Landers foreign hitter Guillermo Heredia renewing his contract. Are negotiations difficult?
SSG’s signing of a foreign hitter this season was a success. Instead of renewing the contract with Juan Lagares, who was with them at the end of the combined championship a year ago, they found a new hitter and signed Heredia, who has major league experience, for a total of $1 million ($900,000 in annual salary and $100,000 in incentives).
Although not a slugging hitter, Heredia was a mainstay of the team’s batting lineup this season. He was placed in the center of the batting order along with Choi Jeong and played fruitfully. In 122 games in which he played, he batted .302 with 153 hits in 473 at-bats, 12 home runs, 76 RBIs, and an OPS (slugging percentage + on-base percentage) of 0.846. There was competition to be the top hitter until the end of the season, and it was the best performance in the SSG team, which suffered a severe slump among key hitters overall this season.
After ending the season in disappointment, SSG focused on finding a new foreign pitcher. Robert Dugger has been recruited, and the remaining position will be decided soon. However, when it comes to contracts for foreign hitters, the principles have been the same from the beginning. He is renewing his contract with Heredia.
Negotiations for a new contract began a little later rather than immediately after the end of the season. Heredia, who returned to his home country after the season, spent a long vacation with his family and was able to rest sufficiently before contacting them again. 먹튀검증토토사이트 Detailed discussions have been held with Heredia since the end of November.
However, there were differences of opinion regarding the terms of the contract.
Since Heredia has actually reached the $1 million limit this season, which is the maximum limit that can be spent on new contract foreign players, a raise is certain if he renews his contract this year. There is no disagreement on this point. However, there is a difference of opinion between the player and the club as to how much of an increase is desired.
SSG continues to negotiate with Heredia. At first, the gap was quite large. However, there is talk that the differences in opinion have recently narrowed significantly.
One variable is Heredia’s intention to re-enter the major leagues. Currently, no Japanese clubs are showing interest in recruiting Heredia.
However, competitiveness still remains in the major leagues. Even though he is not a starting outfielder, he can expect a big league call-up as a backup outfielder. If Heredia wants to continue playing in the United States instead of heading to Korea, his direction could change. Wilmer Font, who played for SSG last year, also chose to go to the United States instead of renewing the contract offered by the team, but signed a minor contract under conditions that were below expectations.
As a result of the coverage, the amount offered by SSG to Heredia is comparable to the conditions of foreign hitters subject to renewal of contracts with other teams. Although it is said that the differences in opinions between the two sides have been greatly narrowed, In the end, Heredia’s own will seems to be important.