[SPOTV News = Kim Tae-woo] KT was surprised when it received the compensation-player list — technically the 20-player protected roster — tied to Kang Baek-ho’s four-year, 10 billion KRW (7.5 million USD) contract with Hanwha. Several unexpected names showed up among the players available to be selected.
Right-hander Han Seung-hyuk (33), who was a reliable late-inning arm for Hanwha last year, was on the list. “We were surprised Han Seung-hyuk came off the 20-man list,” a KT official said. Han echoed that sentiment, calling it “all business” and saying he held no grudges, but admitted, “At first, I didn’t expect it at all.”
With one of the league’s best starting staffs, KT had already targeted position players in free agency. That made bullpen upgrades its most urgent need. When Han Seung-hyuk became available, KT didn’t hesitate to exercise its selection right — and he wound up in a KT uniform.
Protected lists are confidential, but industry chatter suggested Hanwha felt compelled to shield young pitching prospects and, in doing so, exposed pitchers who could contribute immediately. Both Hanwha, which submitted the list, and KT, which saw it, stayed tight-lipped and did not categorically deny those reports. Many see the list as a stark illustration of the tough choices Hanwha faced last winter.
Baseball — especially the offseason — is a game often judged by hindsight. Hanwha faced heavy pressure: after signing Kang Baek-ho, the club was negotiating a multi-year, non-FA deal with No Si-hwan and needed to close those moves without pushing past the competitive-balance salary cap. That meant trimming payroll. Letting Ahn Chi-hong (Kiwoom) and Lee Tae-yang (KIA) go in the secondary draft signaled that approach, and stalled talks with Kim Beom-su (KIA) and Son Ah-seop (Doosan) fit the same pattern.
Most insiders agree that Hanwha would have struggled to sign Kang Baek-ho or lock up No Si-hwan without those payroll moves. Han Seung-hyuk was due a sizable salary this season and was set to reach free-agent eligibility after the year — another financial factor that likely influenced Hanwha’s decision to leave him off the protected list.
Still, many now regret not protecting Han Seung-hyuk. Letting go of Lee Tae-yang, who had limited first-team use and asked to be left off, or Kim Beom-su, whose potential three-year, 2 billion KRW (1.5 million USD) deal would have strained the cap, is one thing. Leaving Han Seung-hyuk felt like a discretionary choice. He pitched in 70 games in 2024 and 71 in 2025, becoming a bullpen mainstay. Last year he logged 64 innings with a 2.25 ERA and performed the eighth-inning setup role extremely well.
With few options to reinforce the relief corps, the simultaneous loss of a lefty and a righty setup man — Han Seung-hyuk and Kim Beom-su — became a major variable. Hanwha understood that risk. The plan was to cover left-handed innings with young arms like Hwang Jun-seo and Jo Dong-wook, and to surround Jung Woo-joo with veterans who have closing experience, such as Park Sang-won and Joo Hyun-sang. Ideally, Park and Joo would absorb Han’s workload while the youngsters matured to handle the sixth and seventh innings. Instead, right-handed struggles have left the bullpen in disarray.
Closer Kim Seo-hyun, expected to be the bullpen anchor, has struggled through seven appearances with a 9.00 ERA. On the 14th against Samsung he allowed seven walks in a single inning and gave up three runs in a nightmarish outing. Jung Woo-joo, projected as the eighth-inning setup man, has an 11-game ERA of 9.82 — well below expectations. While some growing pains were expected, the extent of the struggles surprised the club.
Veterans Park Sang-won and Joo Hyun-sang, who were supposed to stabilize things, have also disappointed. Park carries a 12.86 ERA in nine appearances, and Joo hasn’t returned to the first team. Hanwha has even resorted to a stopgap: moving injury-replacement foreign reliever Jack Cushing into the closer role.
Given the underlying talent, those ERAs should normalize. But Hanwha isn’t rebuilding — it’s a win-now club. The three to four wins lost to early bullpen problems feel significant and could be decisive down the stretch. Blown leads hurt clubhouse morale, and the constant second-guessing of roster decisions underscores how difficult a title run will be for Hanwha.
