The KIA Tigers of the Korean pro baseball league pressed the trade button to strengthen the bullpen. It acquired Kiwoom closer Cho Sang-woo (30), who was rumored to be traded in the middle of this season. 

KIA made a trade on the 19th to bring pitcher Cho Sang-woo by giving the first and fourth rounds of the 2026 rookie draft to the Kiwoom Heroes and 1 billion won in cash.온라인바카라

Cho Sang-woo joined the Heroes as the No. 1 overall pick in the first round of the 2013 draft and returned this season after completing his alternative military service as a social service worker (2022-2023). 

In the 2020 season, he won the title of "save king" by posting 53 games with five wins, three losses and 33 saves with an earned run average of 2.15. He pitched in 44 games (39 ⅔ innings) this season, recording one loss, six saves and nine holds with an earned run average of 3.18. Due to his shoulder injury, he could not take the mound after the match against Hanwha on Aug. 10, but ended the season after rehabilitation. 

During his nine professional seasons, he played in 343 games, recording 33 wins, 25 losses, 54 holds, 88 saves, and an ERA of 3.11. He also played for the 2015 and 2019 Premier 12 and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

The interests of Kia, which desperately needed to strengthen its bullpen, and Kiwoom, which acquired the right to appoint and promising players by trading key players, are in sync. The trade started with Kia's proposal. The heads of the two clubs met with the Golden Glove at a general managerial meeting to discuss the trade and reached an agreement.

Kia, which won the combined championship, failed to catch its free agent pitcher Jang Hyun-sik after the season ended. Jang Hyun-sik, a must-winner, left Kia by signing a four-year contract worth 5.2 billion won (1.6 billion won in down payment and 5.6 billion won in salary) with LG. 

Jang, who won the title of "Hold King (34)" (34) in 2021, has been a must-winner with five wins, four losses and a 3.94 ERA with 16 holds in 75 games (75 ⅓ innings). LG, which collapsed to sixth place in ERA in the bullpen, has become the winner of the recruitment match with a full guarantee contract of 5.2 billion won without any options. Jang was the top bullpen pitcher in the FA market. Kia, which missed Jang, recruited Cho Sang-woo through a trade to fill the vacancy of Jang. 

A source at Kia said, "We agreed on the need to strengthen the bullpen and the field, and pursued this trade. Cho's main weapon is a fastball of 150 kilometers and a sharp slider, and he is a proven pitcher who can play various pitching types including splitter, changeup and curveball. As Cho has been a must-winner in the KBO League and international competitions, he is expected to be of great help to his team going forward."

In exchange for Cho Sang-woo, who will become a free agent after playing for a year, Kia has given Kiwoom a first-round pick and a fourth-round pick, up to 1 billion won in cash. By the way, Kia has won this year's championship and is ranked 10th in next year's draft. It gave up the 10th overall pick and 40th overall pick. Cho did not miss the opportunity to select top promising players, not top-ranked players. If Cho becomes a free agent, he may stay at Kia. If he moves to the free agent, he will be able to receive compensation and players. It endured partial bleeding to ensure its normalcy. 

In order to recruit starting pitcher Choi Won-tae in July of the 2023 season, LG Electronics gave away top prospect Lee Joo-hyung, rookie pitcher Kim Dong-kyu and a 2024 draft round pick. Afterwards, Kiwoom picked pitcher Jeon Joon-pyo with the first round pick. 

Kiwoom cannot afford to hold Cho Sang-woo, who has a year left in service time, when he becomes an FA after next season ends. Kiwoom, which Kim Hye-sung will also advance to the U.S. through posting after Lee Jung-hoo, has set its direction for a certain rebuilding season next year. 

He made a practical choice of receiving designation rights and cash rather than missing out on a one-year special finish with FA compensation players and compensation. Kiwoom said after the trade announcement, "This trade allows the club to prepare for the future of the team by securing the top round nomination rights in 2026. We have secured a number of promising and talented young players over the past two years, and are steadily preparing for the future of the team."