First baseman Dae-ho Lee has declined his 2016 player option with the Fukuoka SoftBak Hawks, he announced (story via Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap News). He added that he intends to pursue a contract with a major league organization.
The South Korean has played in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league since 2012. He moved there after more than a decade in the Korean Baseball Organization.
Unlike many other international players covered here at MLBTR, Lee will be looking to make the jump at the (relatively) advanced age of 33. That isn’t an unprecedented number, but it obviously limits his earning capacity and will reduce the number of teams that have interest in guaranteeing him money.
Lee has shown plenty with his right-handed bat, though, swatting 31 home runs and posting a .282/.364/.524 slash last year in the highly competitive NPB. That was his best overall campaign, but he has been quite consistently productive in Japan’s top league and the KBO before that.
Notably, because he is a free agent, Lee won’t require a posting fee. That eliminates some complications from the process and ought to drop the overall asking price. Presumably, the veteran will be looking first and foremost for opportunity, and it’s easy to imagine a variety of teams rolling the dice if the price is right.
“All baseball players dream of playing in the majors, and I’d like to pursue that dream,” Lee explained in his press conference. “If I can give 100 percent, like I’ve done throughout my career, I don’t think it will be impossible.”
I’m excited to see where he lands.
This looks like a fit for Baltimore. Cheap and the right position.
Agreed
I wonder if the Cardinals will eye Lee, even though some rumors have brought up that theyre interested in Park. They need power either way
He’ll be a very solid option for some teams.
He might be a solid option for some teams.
Maybe he’ll be a pretty solid option for some teams.
If all these Asian based players that have made themselves available actually sign with a MLB team it will be such a huge leap forward in adding that Asian based talent. Really looking forward to it. It would be great for the game of baseball.
I, for one, welcome our new Korean baseball overlords.
I wish him the best, but I don’t see much here. He’s 33 and coming off his best year, which was still rather pedestrian for a guy trying to jump from the NPB to MLB. We’ve seen players with much better numbers there come over here and flop badly. Realistically he’s probably a .240, 15 HR guy in MLB at best.
Let me add a few words about Dae-ho Lee. Maybe someone who has interest in him can be helped.
He was an MVP of Korean league, and second highest-paid player in Japan league (about 5M$ this year). He is first-base man with average defensive level (MLB level) and can do DH, of course. Simply, he is one of best hitters in Asia for now.
Just remember three things. First, he has been very consistent over years, no severe injury, no fluke season, no spoiled season. Always remained at highest ranking in hitting. He did not suffer when switched to Japan league, which means he will have very short transition time to MLB. That’s because of his hitting style.
Second, though he looks like homerun hitter, (and he is!), he’s pretty accurate hitter with high average. His homers are not from his powerful swing, but more from very compact and accurate swings to sweet-spot.
Third, he is Shin-soo Choo’s friend. They are from the same hometown, Busan, and at the same age. Asking Choo can lead to relatively accurate estimate of his hitting performance.