NC Dinos ink free agent outfielder Park Kun-woo to 6-yr deal

▲ Outfielder Park Kun-woo poses in his new NC Dinos jumper after signing a free agent deal with the Korea Baseball Organization club on Dec. 14, 2021, in this photo provided by the Dinos. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from Nov. 18, 2021, Park Kun-woo of the Doosan Bears celebrates a double against the KT Wiz in the bottom of the sixth inning of Game 4 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Yonhap)

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NC Dinos ink free agent outfielder Park Kun-woo to 6-yr deal

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Yonhap) -- The NC Dinos signed star outfielder Park Kun-woo to a mega free agent deal Tuesday, prying the veteran from the Doosan Bears.

The Dinos said Park agreed to a six-year contract worth up to 10 billion won (US$8.45 million). He will make 5.4 billion won in total salary and 4 billion won as a signing bonus, and could earn an additional 600 million won in incentives.

Park, 31, has spent his entire 13-year career in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) with the Bears. He made his debut in 2009 but didn't become an everyday outfielder until 2015.

Since then, the right fielder has been one of the league's best contact hitters. Among all KBO players with at least 3,000 career plate appearances, Park has the third-highest career batting average with .326. It's the highest lifetime mark for a right-handed batter.

In 2021, Park batted .325 with six home runs, 63 RBIs and 13 steals in 126 games. He also posted a .400 on-base percentage, his highest since 2017.

The Dinos won the Korean Series title in 2020 but missed out on the postseason this year. Their general manager, Lim Sun-nam, said the arrival of Park should turn the Dinos into a contender again.

Park thanked the Bears and their fans for their support and said: "This was an extremely difficult decision. I want to thank NC for believing in me."

The Bears have lost a slew of free agents over recent winters. Park has been one of the most popular Bears since becoming a regular in 2015. Last year, they let first baseman Oh Jae-il and second baseman Choi Joo-hwan walk via free agency. Previously, another popular outfielder, Min Byung-hun, and MVP-type catcher Yang Eui-ji also left as free agents.

By signing Park, the Dinos have braced themselves for a likely departure of their own free agent right fielder, Na Sung-bum.

Na, a longtime Dinos franchise icon, is rumored to be nearing a deal with the Kia Tigers, a six-year contract worth as much as 14 billion won.

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