LG Twins sign Oh Ji-hwan to a four-year contract

The LG Twins signed free agent shortstop Oh Ji-hwan on Friday.

The team said Oh has agreed to a four-year contract worth 4 billion won ($3.5 million) with a 1.6 billion won signing bonus and 600 million won in guaranteed salary.

“I’m very happy that I can continue wearing the striped uniform,” Oh said. “Since I first joined [the Twins], I never thought about leaving the team, not even in my dreams. I’m very thankful to the fans who supported me and I’ll always try to be a team-first player.”

Oh made his KBO debut with the LG Twins in 2009. Throughout his 11 seasons with the Twins, Oh has played in 1,207 games and has a 0.261 batting average, with a total of 1,057 hits, 103 home runs, 530 RBIs and 188 stolen bases.

Oh had his best season in 2016, during which he hit 20 home runs with a 0.280 batting average over 121 games.

“Oh Ji-hwan is a core player in our infield,” said the Twins general manager Cha Myung-seok. “He has a strong affection for the team, and he’s contributed a lot as [the Twins’] starting shortstop over the past 10 years. I expect him to continue to play well as the team’s franchise star.”

Once the free agent market opened, Oh originally requested a six-year contract with the Twins, which infuriated some fans who said that he was asking for too much. After the Twins and Oh struggled to come to an agreement, Oh’s agent said that his client would accept whichever contract the club gave him.

Before signing Oh, the Twins also signed a free agent veteran pitcher Song Eun-beom on Wednesday. The club announced that they’ve signed a two-year contract with Song worth 1 billion won.

By Kang Yoo-rim