▲ Hanwha Eagles' Ha Joo-suk celebrates after hitting a double with one out in the bottom of the second inning during Game 5 of the 2025 KBO League postseason Korean Series against the LG Twins at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park on the 31st.
Professional baseball infielder Ha Joo-suk of the Hanwha Eagles and right-handed pitcher Lee Hyung-bum of the KIA Tigers are swapping uniforms.
The two clubs announced the trade through a press release.
KIA stated, "Ha Joo-suk is a versatile resource capable of playing multiple positions, including second base and shortstop," adding, "We expect his abundant first-team experience to be a boost to the team's strength."
KIA has been grappling with depth issues in its infield after failing to re-sign starting shortstop Park Chan-ho, who qualified as a free agent ahead of this season's opening.
Aiming to reach the fall postseason, KIA valued Ha Joo-suk's competitiveness as an infielder equipped with offensive capabilities and agreed to the trade.
Ha Joo-suk, a franchise player for Hanwha, performed his role by recording a batting average of 0.297 in 95 games during the 2025 season.
This season, he experienced a slump with a batting average of 0.256 in 27 first-team games, but performed well in the Futures League with a batting average of 0.327 in 32 games.
The Hanwha club entered this trade to reinforce their pitching mound.
The Eagles stated, "This trade was carried out for the purpose of reinforcing the bullpen and resolving infield position redundancy."
Hanwha General Manager Son Hyuk said, "Lee Hyung-bum is a veteran pitcher with closing experience, and recent data confirmed that his velocity and two-seam fastball movement are good."
Lee Hyung-bum, who passed through the NC Dinos and Doosan Bears before donning the KIA uniform in 2024, recorded an ERA of 3.00 with no wins or losses in 19 games this year.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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