If Roh is drafted next winter and he doesn’t agree to a deal with a major league team within the 30-day period, he will return to the Eagles and begin his 11-year contract. If Roh signs with an MLB club, the Eagles would be eligible for postal compensation if Roh lands a guaranteed deal worth at least $25 million. The compensation would be worth 20% of the first $25 million of Roh’s contract, 17.5% of the next $25 million, and $15% for anything over $50 million.
With $21.3 million already waiting for Roh, any interested major league teams would likely have to significantly exceed that figure to lure Roh away from the Eagles. The likelihood of MLB locking the players out next winter is another important factor for Roh and other international prospects, as they may prefer to stay in their home leagues rather than head to the big leagues in a time of labor unrest.
There’s also the fact that Roh may not activate his release clause out of pure loyalty to the Eagles. “I want to share the beginning and the end with Hanwha. I’ve never even thought about leaving the team, so I don’t even want to imagine it,” Roh said ChosunBiz and other outlets. The length of the extension particularly appealed to Roh, because “the number 11 resonates with me more than the 30.7 billion won figure. It motivates me and makes me proud. Joining the Hanwha Eagles and being able to play for one team as a baseball player for a long time is a huge source of pride and was my dream.”
With all this in mind, Roh’s contract might be nothing more than a transactional footnote as it pertains to Major League Baseball fans, if he indeed remains with the Eagles for the rest of his career. The nature of the contract could perhaps set a precedent for international teams (whether from the KBO or Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball) to entice some top talent to stay put rather than looking for a contract in North America. Should a team put a concrete contract and amount on the table, the player now has a clear price point that he or she must take when negotiating with MLB teams.
Fans will get the chance to see Roh in action for the South Korean team during the World Baseball Classic, and he has an impressive resume spanning his seven seasons with the Eagles. Roh has hit .264/.352/.449 with 124 home runs in 3,347 career at-bats, hitting a career-best 32 home runs in 2025 while helping the Eagles reach the Korean Series for the first time since 2006. Roh has played exclusively at third base the past two seasons and saw some action at shortstop and first base earlier in his career.
Roh is entering his age-25 season, so he would be 26 if and when he is assigned to big league teams this offseason. This young age certainly informed the Eagles’ decision to make such a long-term commitment to Roh, and his youth could be a particular draw (although obviously not in the form of 11 years) to interested MLB teams.
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