Kim Hwi-jip Trade, The First ‘2 Draft Picks’
Kim Hwi-jip trade, the first ‘2 draft picks’ exchange in KBO League history
Kiwoom can select a total of 6 people in the 1st to 3rd rounds in the 2025 KBO draft.
In last year’s draft, 6 people were selected in the 1st to 3rd rounds, and 5 people debuted in the first team.
The Kiwoom Heroes trade, in which they gave up infielder Kim Hwi-jip (22) to the NC Dinos and received two draft picks, is an example of the value of an infielder in his early 20s with slugging power. 파워볼사이트
Kiwoom and the NC club agreed on the 30th to exchange picks for the first and third rounds of the 2025 KBO League rookie draft with Kim Hwi-jip.
Trade discussions began following the game between the two teams held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 21st, and were concluded after several rounds of guessing the cards.
Discussions regarding this trade began with the NC side, which needed to reinforce its infield, first naming Hwijip Kim.
Kim Hwi-jip, who is in his fourth year as a professional, is a promising infielder with a career batting average of 0.227 and 22 home runs.
Shortstop is his main position, and he often plays third base.
NC general manager Lim Seon-nam said, “Kim Hwi-jip is an infielder with power tools and has good long-base hit production, so we expect him to be a player who can add depth to the team’s offense.”
On the contrary, Kiwoom side classified Kim Hwi-jip as a ‘replaceable player’ and accepted the trade.
Kiwoom, with Lee Jeong-hoo (San Francisco Giants) leaving for the United States ahead of this season and Ahn Woo-jin enlisting, will have to spend some time rebuilding its strength for the time being.
Rookie shortstop Lee Jae-sang, who joined this year, shows the potential to grow into a ‘big shortstop’ in both offense and defense, and rookie Ko Young-woo shows off his highly accurate hitting by switching between third base, second base, and shortstop.
Kiwoom general manager Ko Hyeong-wook said, “It is a great regret to let go of Kim Hwi-jip, but the growth of Lee Jae-sang and Ko Young-woo stands out.
(Starting third baseman) Song Seong-moon is also doing well, so I think he will fill that position.
He explained, “It’s about securing future resources rather than immediate performance.”
Kiwoom plans to nurture Lee Jae-sang as the starting shortstop, and when Lee Jae-sang needs a break, second baseman Kim Hye-seong, who used to be a shortstop, will temporarily take over that position.
This trade is the first in KBO history.
The trade of two draft picks, which had been banned for 21 years since 1999, was revived in 2020 when the Lotte Giants sent Shin Bon-ki and Park Si-young to KT Wiz and received Choi Gun and a third-round draft pick.
This time, for the first time, there was a case of trading the top draft picks of the 1st and 3rd rounds.
As a result, Kiwoom will be able to exercise its right to make a total of six nominations from the first round to the third round in the 2025 season rookie draft held this year.
Kiwoom, which ranked last in the league last year, is the first to select players from the 1st to the 10th round according to the rule of reverse order of ranking.
Originally, Kiwoom could nominate No. 1 overall in the first round, No. 11 overall in the second round, and No. 21 overall in the third round.
Number 7 overall in the 1st round and number 27 overall in the 3rd round were received from NC after sending Kim Hwi-jip this time, and number 28 overall in the 3rd round was obtained by sending catcher Jiyoung Lee to SSG Landers in January.
Kiwoom, which began ‘rebuilding’ in earnest last year, utilized the nomination rights secured through trade and brought in a total of six rookies from the 2024 season rookie draft to the third round.
Pitcher Jeon Jun-pyo (1st round, No. 8), pitcher Kim Yun-ha (1st round, no. 9), infielder Lee Jae-sang (2nd round, no. 16), pitcher Son Hyun-ki (2nd round, no. 29), pitcher Lee Woo-hyun (3rd round, no. 34), pitcher Kim Yeon-ju ( Number 39 of the 3rd round) is the main character.
Except for Lee Woo-hyun, who is recovering from a double injury, the remaining five players all played in the first team this season.
Kiwoom, which will bring in a bunch of rookies in this year’s rookie draft, plans to accelerate its efforts to become a strong team.
