The Samsung team left Incheon International Airport on Thursday for Okinawa, Japan, where the 2024 spring camp will take place. Kim Jae-yoon, who wore a Samsung uniform for a total of 5.8 billion won (approx. Kim Jae-yoon, who met with reporters before departure, said, “I came to Samsung because I was treated very well. I am very grateful. I also feel that I have to do better. I did a good job during the off-season so as not to disappoint you,” in expressing confidence in my physical condition.

Kim Jae-yoon will move to another team for the first time since his professional debut. After graduating from Whimoon High School in 2009, he signed a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks to challenge the Major League, but his dream failed to come true. He joined KT as the 13th pick in the second special designation in 2015. Kim Jae-yoon emerged as one of the best bullpen pitchers in the league in kt, recording 44 wins, 33 losses, 169 saves with an ERA of 3.58 in 481 games. He played the role of a backdoor keeper for kt.

He is Kim Jae-yoon, who has left his close friend for nine years. He is now facing a situation where he has to deal with teammates he was with until last year. Asked who he wants to deal with the most among the kt hitters, Kim replied, “I want to have a showdown with Rojas.”

“I think I saw Rojas. I saw Rojas in the dugout with my mouth open. When I did well, I was the best. I don’t know if I can still maintain my skills back then. However, I think it would be scary if Rojas were half-way through his heyday,” Kim said, adding that he wanted to gain the upper hand in the face-to-face confrontation with Rojas.

As such, Rojas performed tremendously. Rojas, who first came to Korea as an alternate foreign player in 2017, showed impressive performance with 18 home runs, five steals, 56 RBIs, 52 runs scored, and a batting average of 0.301 in 83 games. In 2019, he also recorded 24 home runs, four steals, 104 runs, 68 runs scored, and a batting average of 0.332 in 142 games.

Rojas had a career-high season in 2020. He had 47 homers, 135 RBIs, 116 runs batted in, and a slugging percentage of 0.680 in 142 games. He won four awards for home runs, RBIs, runs and slugging percentage, and won the MVP title. After leaving the KT, Rojas returned to the Wizards this year.

Kim Jae-yoon also showed his support for his former teammates. He also expressed his strong belief in Park Young-hyun, a candidate for the KT Wiz’s closing pitcher. “I don’t worry about Park Young-hyun. Last year, I told Park Young-hyun that you should be the closing pitcher instead of me,” Kim said. “I got a good chance this year. I had to be a closing pitcher later on. The opportunity soon came to an end. I don’t worry because I’m a hardworking player. I believe that other players will grow further if they compete.”

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