"Veteran big gun" Kim Dong-yeop (34), who was notified of his release from Samsung at the end of this season, has finally built a new nest.토토사이트

The team that newly formed relationship with Kim Dong-yeop is Kiwoom. Kiwoom officially announced on Monday that it has recruited Kim Dong-yeop, a Samsung outfielder.

Kim Dong-yeop led a turbulent baseball life. The son of former North Ilgo coach Kim Sang-guk who played for Binggrae, Hanwha, and Hyundai, he gained attention when he joined the Chicago Cubs in 2009, but moved around in minor leagues before seeking to enter the KBO League.

Kim Dong-yeop, who was drafted by SK in the 2016 KBO Rookie Draft, played in 125 games in 2017 with a batting average of .277 with 22 home runs, 70 RBIs and two steals, and then appeared in 124 games in 2018 with a batting average of .252 with 27 home runs, 76 RBIs and 11 steals, helping SK win the Korean Series.

SK ended up with Kim Dong-yeop as they made triangular trade with Samsung and Kiwoom for the first time in the KBO league. SK sent Kim Dong-yeop to Samsung, Samsung sent Lee Ji-young to Kiwoom, while Kiwoom sent Ko Jong-wook to SK.

He had a rough first season with Samsung. After hitting .121 with no homers and one RBI until April, he ended the 2019 season satisfied that he had a batting average of .215 with six homers, 25 RBIs and two steals in 60 games. In a desperate attempt, Kim appeared in 115 games in 2020 with a batting average of .312 with 20 homers, 74 RBIs and four steals, showing what Samsung expected.

However, Kim Dong-yeop, who went downhill again in 2021 with three RBIs without a batting average of .125 home runs until April, ended up leaving a batting average of .238 with four home runs, 24 RBIs and two steals in 69 games, and in 2022, he was sluggish with two home runs and four RBIs in 30 games, failing to reproduce the prowess of the big hitter.

Kim, who seemed to succeed in revival last year by posting a batting average of .333, three homers, nine RBIs and one stolen base through April, only added two homers and his presence gradually faded as he left a batting average of .255 with five homers and 18 RBIs and one stolen base in 69 games. This year, he played in eight games with a batting average of .111 and left two RBIs without homers, going the opposite way to Samsung's rise. Rather, he spent longer in the Futures League. His record in the Futures League was .288 with two homers, 21 RBIs and one stolen base in 38 games.

Samsung began organizing its squad on the 1st, and Kim Dong-yeop was also included in the list of players to be released. Kiwoom reached out to Kim Dong-yeop, who became "invincible." Kiwoom recruited Kim Dong-yeop to secure resources for the right-handed slugger. A Kiwoom official said, "We are happy to recruit the right-handed slugger that the team needs. With Kim Dong-yeop's addition, we can balance the left and right sides of the lineup to launch stronger and more structured attacks. As an experienced veteran player, I look forward to having a positive impact on our team's young players."

Kim Dong-yeop, who made history as the target of the first triangular trade, has become the star of the record of all three teams that made the triangular trade upon joining Kiwoom. Lee Ji-young also moved to SSG after passing through Samsung and Kiwoom.

He has a batting average of .268 with 92 homers, 316 RBIs and 24 steals in 657 games in the KBO League so far. Now he is looking to see his career record of 100 homers come from his new team. He should have done it earlier in his heyday, but he has had many ups and downs. Will he be able to revive himself by wearing the Kiwoom uniform.