Headlines

  • Reds Fire Bryan Price, Mack Jenkins
  • Taijuan Walker To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Braves Sign Jose Bautista
  • Taijuan Walker Diagnosed With “UCL Injury”
  • 2018-19 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings
  • Kevin Kiermaier To Undergo Thumb Surgery
  • Previous
  • Next
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2018 Arbitration Tracker
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2018
    • 2017-18 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2017-18 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • MLB Depth Charts
    • Transaction Tracker
    • DFA Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • Last 100 Comments
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Dae-ho Lee To Sign With KBO’s Lotte Giants

By Jeff Todd | January 23, 2017 at 7:06pm CDT

Slugger Dae-ho Lee has decided to return to his native Korea, according to Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency (Twitter links). Lee, who is represented by MVP Sports Group, will receive a $12.9MM guarantee over four years from his original professional team, the Lotte Giants. That represents a record contract for the Korea Baseball Organization.

Lee, 34, came to the majors last year after joining the Mariners on a minor-league deal. He made the roster and ultimately provided the organization with 14 long balls and a .253/.312/.428 batting line over 317 plate appearances.

While that represented a solid effort for a player transitioning to the majors at this late stage of his career, there are obviously some limitations. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the right-handed hitter showed better when facing lefties. And though Lee drew roughly average ratings for his work in the field, he’s limited to first base or a DH hole.

Though the Mariners had some interest in a reunion at one time, it never seemed that he’d be in line for more than part-time duty there or elsewhere in the majors. And the chance to play regularly was a significant factor, Lee said earlier in the offseason.

Before making his way to Seattle, Lee played in both Korea and Japan for 15 seasons. He starred with Lotte for most of that stretch, seemingly capping his tenure there with a pair of stellar, 1.000+ OPS campaigns in 2010 and 2011. From there, Lee went on to a productive four-year stint in the NPB, where he combined power and plate discipline.

While there was no doubt some interest from MLB organizations and NPB clubs, Lee will instead return to the place where he first made his name. It helps, no doubt, that he’ll land such a significant contract; per Yoo, it’s over $4MM higher than any prior KBO deal.

Share 0 Retweet 14 Send via email0

Dae-ho Lee San Francisco Giants Transactions

Diamondbacks To Sign Josh Thole
Main
Rangers Only Interested In Mike Napoli On One-Year Deal
7 comments
newest oldest

Comments

  1. johnny53811

    1 year ago

    Too many 1B/DH types on the market this winter. He got the best deal he was gonna get and as a bonus he gets to go back home. I always liked watching his homerun highlights.

    0
    0
    Reply
    • bradthebluefishbradthebluefish

      1 year ago

      Great analysis! Add that to the fact that Lee was a platoon bat and it makes sense that he went back to Korea.

      0
      0
      Reply
  2. dstuart

    1 year ago

    Why is this tagged to the San Francisco Giants? lol

    0
    0
    Reply
    • TheMichiganTheMichigan

      1 year ago

      Accidental since he signed with the Lotte Giants

      0
      0
      Reply
  3. 24TheKid

    1 year ago

    Oh Dae Ho, I’m going to miss you.

    0
    0
    Reply
    • GrandSlammy

      1 year ago

      Agreed

      0
      0
      Reply
  4. yyyyymagic

    1 year ago

    As Korean I wanted him in MLB. If he gets more chances at bat he can definitely do more than he did as platoon. Kinda sad that he didn’t sign with MLB team cause he kept saying they he wanted to be in MLB longer. So sad 🙁

    0
    0
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Reds Fire Bryan Price, Mack Jenkins

    Taijuan Walker To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Braves Sign Jose Bautista

    Taijuan Walker Diagnosed With “UCL Injury”

    2018-19 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings

    Kevin Kiermaier To Undergo Thumb Surgery

    Dinelson Lamet To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Travis d’Arnaud To Undergo Tommy John Surgery; Kevin Plawecki Placed On Disabled List

    Elvis Andrus Diagnosed With Elbow Fracture

    Alex Gordon Placed On DL With Labral Tear In Left Hip

    Recent

    Reds Fire Bryan Price, Mack Jenkins

    MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Buxton, Camargo, Gamel, Hill

    Injury Notes: Anibal, Buxton, Hill, Swarzak, Brewers

    Yankees Re-Sign Adam Lind

    MLBTR Chat: Bautista, Cueto, Hader, Jansen

    Taijuan Walker To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Mike Napoli Suffers “Significant” Knee Injury

    Braves Promote Jesse Biddle, Place Jose Ramirez On 10-Day DL

    Offseason In Review: New York Yankees

    Braves Sign Jose Bautista

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2017-18 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2017-18 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2018
    • MLB Depth Charts
    • 2018-19 MLB Free Agent List
    • Transaction Tracker
    • DFA Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Twitter/RSS Feeds
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
    • Roster Resource

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Indians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version