The 2016 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season promises to be as wide open as ever: most of the playoff contestants from last season have lost key players, while those left on the outside looking in opened their wallets over the winter.

Yet pundits here agreed on one club to rise like cream: the NC Dinos.

The Dinos only joined the KBO in 2013 but have steadily improved themselves. They made their playoff debut in 2014 and were eliminated in the first round. Last year, they finished second in the regular season and held it together into the second round, where they bowed out to the eventual champ Doosan Bears.

This year, the Dinos will look to take another step or two forward.

Jeong Min-chul, former All-Star pitcher now providing commentary for cable channel MBS Sports Plus, said he liked what the Dinos did in the offseason: keep their core and add a proven bat in third baseman Park Sok-min via free agency.

Park, who'd spent 10 seasons with the Samsung Lions, batted a career-high .321 in 2015 with 26 home runs and 116 RBIs, also his personal best. He has hit .300 or better in each of the past four years, and is a career .297 hitter with 163 home runs in 1,027 games.

He's joining an already vaunted lineup featuring reigning KBO MVP Eric Thames and emerging outfielder Na Sung-bum. Thames posted the league's first-ever 40-40 season with 47 home runs and 40 steals, and also won the batting title with a .381 average. Na hit 28 home runs while veteran Lee Ho-jun added 24.

"If Park can give them a .300 batting average and 100 RBIs, and Na Sung-bum and Thames can provide their usual power, this will be a lethal lineup," Jeong said. "They also have a balanced pitching staff."

Song Jin-woo, an analyst with KBSN Sports, noted that all the speedsters that gave the Dinos a league-leading 204 steals will be returning, too.

"I think their speed can make the difference in close games," said Song, the only 200-game winner in the KBO history. The Dinos had three of the top five players in steals with Park Hae-min at No. 2 (46 steals), Kim Jong-ho at No. 4 (41) and Thames at No. 5 (40).

The Lions have been the best team this decade. They won every pennant from 2011 to 2015, and captured four consecutive Korean Series titles from 2011 to 2014, before finishing second to the Doosan Bears last year.

Whether they can return to the top of the league will depend on the availability of two key pieces on their team.

Starter Yun Sung-hwan and reliever An Ji-man have been under suspicion of illegal overseas gambling since last fall. The situation forced the Lions to leave them off the Korean Series roster. Their status for the regular season remains in limbo as the police investigation has been dragging on for months. They didn't make a preseason appearance.

SPO TV analyst Yeom Jong-seok said the Lions could still be a force this year alongside the Dinos.

"They have veterans who know how to win," the former Rookie of the Year said. "Yun Sung-hwan and An Ji-man will hold the key. If they can't pitch, the Lions could fall to the middle of the pack."

Jeong opined that the Lions may not have viable options to fill in the gap should Yun and An both be unavailable this season.

The pundits also agreed that the Hanwha Eagles will end their postseason drought at eight. The perennial doormat did climb out of the cellar last season to finish sixth last year. With new manager Kim Sung-keun at the helm, the Eagles made a run at a postseason berth before fading away badly, as Kim's controversial use of his bullpen -- relying on one or two relievers to get through close games -- hurt them in the end.

Kim received some extra arms over the winter. The Eagles signed All-Star closer Jung Woo-ram to a four-year, 8.4 billion won ($7.2 million) deal, making him the second-highest paid pitcher in league history. Other veterans Shim Soo-chang and Lee Jae-woo, useful bullpen assets, joined the staff. They retained former big leaguer Esmil Rogers and then signed ex-big league catcher Wilin Rosario, four years removed from a 28-homer season with the Colorado Rockies.

"Hanwha is a team that keeps starting pitchers on a short leash, and with their bullpen additions, they can now afford to conserve some of the veterans from last season," Jeong said.

"Rosario and Rogers are the highest-paid foreign players and also have the most impressive major league resumes. I can see them playing in the postseason."

Lee Soon-chul, SBS Sports' commentator, said the Eagles, on paper, should be among the top five clubs, but they will need Rogers back in the rotation from offseason elbow issues.

"He isn't even doing the long toss, and he likely won't be available until late April," the former star outfielder said of the right-hander who was 6-2 with a 2.97 ERA in 10 appearances as a midseason pickup.

The analysts said the bottom will fall out for the Nexen Heroes, who've lost all of the major pieces that helped them reach each of the past three postseasons.

They lost two-time MVP Park Byung-ho to the Minnesota Twins after he enjoyed his second straight 50-homer season. Right fielder Yoo Han-joon, who set a career high with 23 home runs last year, left as a free agent to sign with the KT Wiz. Closer Son Seung-lak has also left via free agency, joining the Lotte Giants.

Their staff has also been decimated. Former No. 1 starter Andy Van Hekken is now pitching for the Seibu Lions in Japan. Two other key relievers, Han Hyun-hee and Cho Sang-woo, are both out for the season after undergoing Tommy John (reconstructive elbow) surgeries.

"They've lost everyone, from pitchers to hitters," Lee Soon-chul said. "It'd be strange not to consider them a weak club."

Jeong Min-chul said it'd be "sensational" if the Heroes somehow finished among the top five in the regular season. (Yonhap)