Exchanges between professional baseball and U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs are expected to stop.

As a result of this paper's coverage, the MLB Secretariat recently delivered a guideline to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) that "If there is an individual agreement between the MLB club and the KBO League club, destroy it." As a result, KBO documented the relevant information to determine the status of the individual agreements of the 10 KBO League clubs. "I understand that certain MLB clubs have delivered related information not only to Korea but also to Japan (NPB) or Taiwan (CPBL) as there is a concern that Asian players may be tempered (in advance contact)," the team leader A said.

The MLB Secretariat seems to be concerned about the possibility of abuse of individual agreements between teams. Externally, it is a strategic partnership, but this method can indirectly preoccupy players' information. On the ground, Sasaki Rockies, a monster pitcher, is cited as the background of the move. Sasaki is a fireballer with a maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour and expects to cross the Pacific Ocean following Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Los Angeles Dodgers). Dodgers President Andrew Friedman also drew attention as he visited the training site of the Japanese national team around the World Baseball Classic in March last year and observed Sasaki's pitching.

A KBO official said, "(The fact not to make individual agreements between clubs) is to provide convenience to players' clubs in advance to prevent them from preempting (rights or information) when recruiting players like Sasaki," adding, "If there is an individual agreement, we will destroy it and proceed with related discussions through the secretariat in the future."

Following these guidelines, Kiwoom Heroes ended its partnership with the MLB Arizona Diamondbacks. Kiwoom and Arizona officially exchanged various parts in August last year, including cross-dispatching of employees of the team's management part, sharing information on the operation of the team through regular meetings, and sharing data on foreign players. Arizona R&D team employees visited Korea to accompany Kiwoom's power analysis team, and some of the Kiwoom coaching staff went to the U.S. to participate in the Arizona club's education camp.

Last year and this year, Kiwoom players maintained a close relationship by playing camp at Scottsdale Salt River Field in the U.S., the spring camp site in Arizona. Coincidentally, Kiwoom, where outfielder Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants) entered MLB last winter, is ahead of infielder Kim Hye-sung's posting system (closed competitive bidding) this winter. A high-ranking Kiwoom official said, "We ended our partnership with Arizona because there could be unnecessary misunderstandings regarding players."

A club official said, "I think it is necessary to exchange with MLB clubs in terms of the league's growth. As soon as we tried to prepare related things, we got a guideline," adding, "We believe that the KBO League is stagnant, and for the league to grow, we need to gain something from various exchanges. I hope to play some role as an arbitrator in the KBO, which is a shame."

KBO says it is possible to make a contract through a secretariat rather than individual agreements. It means to obtain a kind of "notarization of contract," but questions remain about its effectiveness. "It is a plan to prevent the acquisition of exclusive information on certain players from overseas leagues, and how many players will enter the U.S. from Korea? I am not sure how effective the measures will be," club leader A said. "Is there a difference between signing an agreement through a secretariat and doing it right away? If the current atmosphere is to scrap the existing contract, I think it will be difficult to make an agreement (in any form) in the future," club leader B predicted.