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Lim Chan-kyu (31, LG Twins), a successful fan, is valued in the free agent (FA) market.

Lim Chan-kyu was announced as a 2024 professional baseball FA-qualified player on the 15th. According to the data released by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), a total of 34 KBO league players are eligible for FA this winter. Players who want to exercise their rights can apply by the 17th and freely negotiate from the 19th if their qualifications are approved. Lim Chan-kyu's exercise of FA rights is close to a foregone conclusion. This is because he had a career high season (14 wins, 3 losses, 3.42 ERA) and the team even won the integrated championship.

The atmosphere in the market is not expected to be bad either. There are 15 pitchers among FA-qualified players, and Lim Chan-kyu is the only "regulatory innings starting pitcher" who can sign a contract. Pitchers including Park Se-woong (Lotte Giants) and Moon Seung-won (SSG Landers) were tied to non-FA multi-year contracts early, intensifying the "starter shortage." Fewer sales in the FA market, where supply and demand determine ransom, are conditions that expect reflective profits. A club official said, "I think it's one of the seasons when the starting resources have been less released since the FA system began. Lim Chan-kyu said, "I'm young (born in November 1992) so that's also a strength," adding, "It's also positive that I'm not a type with a lot of pitches in terms of my shoulders."

Lim Chan-kyu was qualified as an FA a year ago, but he put his rights on hold. He judged that it would be difficult to get a good contract because his personal record (6 wins, 11 losses, 5.04 ERA) fell. The prospects for this season were not bright either. He waited in the bullpen after being pushed out of the competition for the fifth start of the exhibition game against Kang Hyo-jong and Park Myung-geun. However, he took over after being put in as a "temporary starter" in mid-April. As LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop advised, "You have to remove the restraints from your head," your performance improved by paying attention to rapid control. Although the average fastball speed is only 140.8km/h, he took away the batting timing by mixing the slider, changeup, and slow curve in the right place. As a result, the choice to re-enter the FA for a year became a great move.

Lim Chan-gyu boasts of outstanding talk. "I remember LG's last KS in detail in 2002," he said at the Korean Series Media Day held on the 6th. "I was an elementary school student at the time, and I remember writing to my mother that I would not go to school. "Just taking the mound at LG's KS, I think I'm a successful 'deokhu' (a person who is focused on one field)," he said with a chuckle. Lim Chan-kyu started in Game 3 of the KS against KT Wiz and helped his team win by allowing one run in 3 2/3 innings. LG, which had two wins from one win and one loss, lifted the trophy with four wins and one loss. "If you win and become a FA, you will have to find me even if you don't tell me," said Cha Myung-seok, LG's general manager, becoming a reality. Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop hoped to stay, saying, "I think he will keep his loyalty with me."