“KIA never signs expensive players these days” ... The more Park Jung-woo proves himself, the more urgently KIA needs free agent Kim Ho-ryeong

[Financial News] At vast Jamsil Stadium, home runs are hard to come by. There, outfield defense—especially a center fielder’s ability to judge balls in play—is an absolute factor in determining the outcome.
Yet KIA Tigers manager Lee Bum-ho boldly left Kim Ho-ryeong, a center fielder renowned for his league-leading defense, out of the starting lineup for the most important stage of the fall baseball season. Instead, he moved Park Jung-woo, who can hit and execute plays, up to the leadoff spot and into center field. This bold decision to choose “offense” over “defense” became the perfect spark for completely dismantling LG starter Carlos Carrasco.
KIA routed LG 13-1 in Game 3 of the 2026 postseason semi-playoffs, a best-of-five series, at Jamsil Stadium on the 20th, clinching a playoff berth with three straight wins. Kim Do-yeong’s grand slam and Na Sung-bum’s two home runs drew the spotlight, but the real starting point of the rout was Park Jung-woo’s bat.
Leading off in the top of the first, Park Jung-woo relentlessly battled veteran Carrasco, who had 112 career Major League wins. Choking up on the bat, he fouled off four pitches and worked a walk after a nine-pitch battle. Given that KIA hitters averaged 3.85 pitches per plate appearance this season, he completely wore down the opposing ace from his very first trip to the plate. Carrasco threw 18 pitches in the first inning, half of them in his battle with Park Jung-woo.

The highlight came in the top of the second. With one out, KIA loaded the bases on an opposing error, a walk and other plays. Down 2-2 in the count, Park Jung-woo pulled off an opposite-field hit off Carrasco’s 141-kph cutter to drive in the game’s first run. That one hit cost the LG dugout its patience, and Carrasco suffered the humiliation of being pulled after just 11⁄3 innings. Park went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a walk, delivering a perfect leadoff performance.
Manager Lee Bum-ho’s decision to choose Park Jung-woo over defensive specialist Kim Ho-ryeong was based squarely on the data. Carrasco held right-handed hitters to a .185 batting average, but showed a weakness against left-handed hitters, who hit .267 against him. To exploit that gap, Lee ordered an extreme, all-out assault, putting seven left-handed hitters—including Park Jung-woo—in the starting lineup, and the strategy proved a complete success.

But this cannot be dismissed as a one-off platoon decision. It is a significant turning point that could shake up the future of KIA’s center-field position and even the mood heading into the coming offseason.
Kim Ho-ryeong has long been the face of KIA’s center field. His range and reliability on defense have been unmatched. He also improved at the plate early in the season, boosting his value ahead of becoming eligible for free agency for the first time in his career. But his hitting fell off sharply after September. He went quiet in Games 1 and 2 of this semi-playoff series, managing one hit in seven at-bats for a .143 average, and was ultimately relegated to the bench for Game 3.
By contrast, Park Jung-woo appeared in 110 games this season and hit .292, firmly establishing himself at the first-team level. With his tenacity in at-bats, baserunning that makes the most of his speed, and ability to make contact without easily giving in, he has quickly emerged as a dependable option for manager Lee Bum-ho.

This also has direct implications for the upcoming playoff matchup against the Samsung Lions. The value of left-handed hitter Park Jung-woo to KIA is bound to soar against a Samsung team packed with right-handed starters. If Park continues his strong play as the starting center fielder in the playoffs, the KIA bench will have more options. Kim Min-gyu, a speedy center-field prospect with potential, is also well worth developing. Given that Park Jae-hyeon broke out in his second year, there is no reason Kim Min-gyu could not follow the same path.
This could also become a decisive factor at the negotiating table for Kim Ho-ryeong, who will become eligible for free agency after the season. Despite the repeated departures of key players such as Choi Hyoung-woo, Park Chan-ho, Jang Hyun-sik, Choi Won-jun and Han Seung-taek, the KIA front office achieved a third-place finish through pragmatic roster management and the discovery of replacement talent. If Park Jung-woo convinces the team that he can also be a starting center fielder, the club will no longer need to offer Kim Ho-ryeong an excessive blockbuster contract.
Even so, KIA needs Kim Ho-ryeong. Few players can match his defense and speed. But being “indispensable” and being “replaceable” can change the first digit in the price tag. In other words, KIA would hold the upper hand in negotiations.
Conversely, if Kim Ho-ryeong proves his unique value again in the remaining fall baseball games, he could regain the upper hand in free-agent negotiations.
Manager Lee Bum-ho’s change at leadoff for Game 3 of the semi-playoffs brought a 13-1 rout. But the ripple effects of that decision are growing into a fierce battle for survival over the Tigers’ center-field spot in 2027.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter