Severe slump seen in the second half of this year
PS entry exclusion/protected player happening
Seung-hwan Oh (42, Samsung Lions), who had an eventful year in 2024, dreams of a rebound in the 2025 season.
Seunghwan Oh rode a roller coaster in 2024.
Oh Seung-hwan, who became a free agent after completing the 2023 season, signed a two-year contract worth a total of 2.2 billion won and remained at Samsung.
As Samsung, which was looking to strengthen its bullpen, recruited Kim Jae-yoon, a closing pitcher, Seung-hwan Oh competed for the closing position. After competition, Seung-Hwan Oh started the 2024 season as a closing pitcher.
Although he went through ups and downs in 2023 and even appeared as a starting pitcher, Oh Seung-hwan showed off his health at the beginning of the 2024 season.
In 35 games until June, he had 1 win, 4 losses, 24 saves, and an ERA of 2.48. Out of 27 save opportunities, there were only 3 blown saves.
By leading the way in saves, he also received the green light to win the title of relief king for the 7th time in his career.
However, after July, it fluctuated sharply. In 23 games since July, he recorded only 2 wins, 5 losses, 2 holds, 3 saves, and an ERA of 9.64. There were 5 blown saves.
Seung-hwan Oh took the mound in the 9th inning against Daegu KT Wiz with a score of 2-2 on August 15 and collapsed after hitting two home runs, and was excluded from the first team the next day.
Seung-Hwan Oh, who had some time to reorganize, returned at the end of August, but lost his position as the closing pitcher.
Afterwards, he seemed to have succeeded in rebounding by playing in the middle relief pitching, but he performed poorly by allowing 3 runs in ⅔ innings against SSG Landers on September 15th and 6 runs over ⅔ innings against Kiwoom Heroes on the 22nd of the same month.
Oh Seung-hwan, who was notified to be transferred to the 2nd Army again on September 23, has not been able to return to the 1st Army since.
Samsung finished second in the regular season and advanced to the postseason, but was excluded from the playoffs and Korean Series entry.
After the season ended, there was even an incident related to protected players.
On the 6th, Samsung signed a free agent contract with Choi Won-tae for a four-year contract period and a maximum total of 7 billion won.
Samsung, which recruited Choi Won-tae, a Grade A external free agent, had to give 20 protected players plus one compensated player and 200% of the previous year’s annual salary, or 300% of the previous year’s annual salary, to the LG Twins, the original team.
Accordingly, great interest was focused on whether Oh Seung-hwan, who was excluded from both the playoffs and the Korean Series entry, would be included in the list of 20 protected players.
In the end, the incident came to an end when Samsung made an unusual announcement, saying, “Oh Seung-hwan will be added to the list of protected players.”
Oh Seung-hwan, who has gone through many twists and turns this year, aims to regain his honor in 2025. 2025 is even more important for him as it is the last year of his free agent contract.
Attention is also focused on the future of Oh Seung-hwan, who has recently experienced ups and downs.
Oh Seung-hwan turns 43 next year. Those born in 1982, who were called the ‘golden generation’, have now all left the field. Dae-ho Lee retired after the 2022 season, and Shin-soo Choo and Kang-min Kim also said goodbye to the field after the 2024 season.
Although he signed a two-year contract at the time of free agency, Seung-Hwan Oh has never mentioned the timing of his retirement. The Samsung team also did not bring up the story.
An official from the Samsung club said, “It appears that Oh Seung-hwan is only thinking about showing good performance as a player next season. We’ve never talked about retirement. “The ‘retirement tour’ could also be seen as a recommendation to retire,” he said, adding, “We are respecting the player’s wishes and waiting to see what decision will be made.”
If Seung-Hwan Oh is revived, it would be very welcome for Samsung. Samsung attempted to strengthen its bullpen this winter, but failed to achieve its goal.
If Seung-Hwan Oh regains his command and plays his role, the bullpen concerns can be resolved to some extent. He can also be expected to play a central role in the bullpen.
Attention is focused on whether Oh Seung-hwan, who experienced ups and downs in 2023 and 2024, will be able to sing the ‘Resurrection Hymn’ next year. In addition to whether or not one’s reputation will be restored, attention is also paid to the decision to move forward.
[서울=뉴시스]