The behind-the-scenes details of the Kim Min-ki and Oh Won-seok trade have been revealed. SSG Landers wanted Kim first, and KT Wiz offered Oh Won-seok in return, and the big deal was finalized, swapping first-round draft picks.

The KT Wiz officially announced on the morning of the 31st of last month, “We have executed a trade with SSG Landers, sending right-handed pitcher Kim Min-soo (25) and acquiring left-handed pitcher Oh Won-seok (23).”

A KT official contacted by OSEN after the trade was finalized said, “SSG proposed the trade first. They wanted Kim Min-soo, and we talked about Oh Won-seok.” ”They needed a right-handed bullpen pitcher, and we needed a left-handed starter. As a franchise player, Kim has been doing a good job, but after communication with the field and internal review, we decided that acquiring another left-handed starter would help us stabilize our power,” said the final details of the trade.

Kim is a promising right-handed fireballer who was KT’s first pick in the 2018 rookie draft out of Suwon Yushingo. Along with teammates Kang Baek-ho (first pick in the second round) and Choi Gun (later renamed Choi Yi-jun, 11th pick in the second round), he was touted as the rookie trio that would lead KT.

Contrary to expectations,

Kim’s career has been a mixed bag. Despite possessing a fastball that tops out at 155 kilometers, he struggled with his control and was repeatedly bounced back and forth between the fifth and chase groups. After the 2020 season, Kim fulfilled his military service obligation by heading to Sangsan, which didn’t prove to be a big turning point.

This year, in his seventh year as a professional, was different. He dedicated himself to the team with a 4.31 ERA in 71 games with 8 wins, 4 losses, and 21 holds, the most in the team and the seventh most in the league. In late May, he became a must-win pitcher in earnest, 파워볼사이트 going 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA in June and earning his first All-Star appearance as a manager’s pick. Kim had a lot to do with KT’s miraculous leap from last place to fifth place.

The use of Kim as a trading card was deeply connected to KT’s years-long left-handed pitching famine. Since the retirement of championship pitcher Seung-jo Hyun-woo, KT hasn’t been able to find a suitable homegrown left-hander. They spent a lot of time developing 2016 first-round pick Park Se-jin and 2019 first-round pick Jeon Jong-ju, but neither developed as expected, and Sung Jae-heon, who joined the team through the tryout this year, was more of a chaser and a loser than a starter and a winner.

In contrast,

Oh Won-seok is a proven left-handed starter. He was drafted by the SK Wyverns (now SSG) in 2020 and has been called the next Kim Kwang-hyun, pitching 110 innings in 2021, 144 innings in 2022, 144⅔ innings in 2023, and 121⅔ innings in 2024. Of his 129 games in the first team, 98 of them were starts. He is still growing, though his weaknesses include poor control of his pitches.

A KT representative said, “Oh Won-seok is a pitcher with excellent innings digestibility for his age group. He has been learning to start, and when a starter has more than 140 innings pitched, it means he has played a role as a starter in the team. Won-seok Oh is still improving,” he said in high praise.

If internal free agent Uhm Sang-baek stays, KT will have two foreign pitchers next season and a strong five-man rotation of Ko Young-pyo, Uhm Sang-baek, and Choi Soon-joon. In such a situation, it was analyzed that the team was preparing for the situation where Uhm Sang-baek leaves the team by signing an additional starting pitcher.

In response,

a KT official said, “The signing of Oh Won-seok is separate from Uhm Sang-baek. We are preparing to keep Uhm Sang-baek,” and added, ”The more starting resources we have, the better. It’s up to the manager to decide, but I think it’s okay to have six starters. Also, Choi Min-joon will be limited in innings next season (due to elbow surgery).”

“We were looking for an immediate power pitcher with starting and bullpen experience to strengthen the competitiveness of the team’s pitching staff, and KT’s interests aligned, so we made the trade,” said SSG, who also succeeded in acquiring the targeted Kim. ”We highly valued Kim’s strong two-seam fastball and perfect slider. This season, he posted an 8-4 record with 21 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings in 71 games, demonstrating the performance of a top-tier bullpen pitcher.”