Hanwha Eagles infielder Noh Si-hwan has landed a record-setting payday. The question now is whether he can deliver the kind of long-term value associated with SSG Landers star Choi Jeong.
Hanwha announced on the 23rd that it signed Noh to a multiyear contract before he reaches free agency. The deal runs 11 years and is worth 30.7 billion won ($30.7 billion won) including incentives, the longest and largest contract in KBO League history across both free-agent and non-free-agent agreements. The contract also includes a clause allowing Noh to move to Major League Baseball via posting after this season.
The size and length of the agreement surprised many. A long-term deal had been widely discussed, but the 11-year term and a total in the 30 billion won range exceeded expectations.
Noh’s single contract also surpasses the combined value of Choi’s three free-agent deals, which totaled 30.2 billion won (4 years, 8.6 billion won; 6 years, 10.6 billion won; 4 years, 11.0 billion won). A Hanwha official said the total carried symbolic meaning, reflecting the club’s hope that Noh will become a player who surpasses Choi. Noh’s average annual value is also higher: 2.79 billion won compared with Choi’s roughly 2.16 billion won.
The two players share several traits: both are third basemen, right-handed power hitters, and players who reached the first-team roster quickly after receiving military-service benefits and later earned free-agent eligibility. One difference is age. Noh will be 26 for the 2027 season, while Choi was 28 in 2015, his first season after his initial free-agent deal. With age heavily weighed in the market and the value of money declining over time, Noh’s larger figure is easier to explain. Still, unlike Choi, who signed three separate free-agent contracts, Noh’s ultra-long deal could be more sensitive to injury risk.
That is why Hanwha fans may measure the contract against Choi’s track record. Choi’s first free-agent deal was widely viewed as team-friendly, and he later signed his second and third deals with the same club. According to the statistics site STATIZ, Choi posted a combined WAR of 53.99 from the 2015 season through the 2025 season, an average of 4.91 per year. That works out to about 560 million won spent per 1 WAR. Noh recorded a WAR of 4.88 this season, and in his career-best 2023 season he posted a WAR of 6.74.
Noh has effectively committed his prime years to Hanwha. The key question is whether, from the 2027 season through the 2037 season when the non-free-agent multiyear deal applies, he can exceed Choi’s level of production. If Noh produces consistently at a similar level, criticism that the deal is an overpay could shift to praise as one of the league’s best-value contracts.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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