TODAY: Kim’s negotiating period begins at 7am CT tomorrow, and ends at 4pm CT on January 5, as per Jee-Ho Yoo of Yonhap News.
YESTERDAY: The Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization have posted outfielder Kim Jae-Hwan, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. As the agreement between MLB and the KBO dictates, Kim will have a 30-day window to negotiate with all 30 MLB clubs once he’s officially posted. Should he sign with a big league club, the release fee the Bears would receive would depend on the value of his contract.
“I don’t know which teams will show interest in me or how I am going to be evaluated, but I am just thankful for this opportunity,” Kim said (via the Korea Herald). “Every baseball player dreams of reaching the majors. I’d like to thank the Bears for allowing me to take on this challenge.”
Kim was one of the most prolific sluggers in Korea from 2016-18, a span in which he amassed 116 home runs and posted an OPS above 1.000 in each season. While Kim won KBO MVP honors in 2018, last season made for a somewhat disappointing follow-up. Kim totaled 15 homers and batted .283/.362/.434 across 574 plate appearances in a league where offensive production fell in general. Nevertheless, he’ll try his hand at landing a major league deal this winter.
Just shows batting
No mention of position
1B and corner OF
That’s a huge dip. I wonder what the perceived reason is.
it says the whole league went down in the article. the opposite of the juiced ball in MLB, perhaps?
Yes, the KBO changed their ball a bit to stop all the Homeruns
KBO sold all their juiced balls to Manfred…
It is in the first sentence. Outfielder
For comparisons sake. This guys best years ops was around 1000. Eric Thames hit 1100-1200 all three years he was over there.
If he plays CF the Mets should already be calling his agent.
If he plays CF the Mets should already be calling his agent.
From the dreaded crosstown rivals of my beloved LG Twins.
I have an LG Twins sticker on my guitar case. Got to see them play once when I was in Korea on business a decade ago.
KBO games are awesome. Don’t know if it’s still the case, but you used to be able to bring in your own beer. A westerner with a 12 pack handing out beers made instant friends. And the cheerleaders… my god man.
Best of luck to him, really, but don’t get your hopes up if your favorite team signs him. The KBO is about the level of High A-ball. To wit: Byung Ho Park hit well over .300 with 90+ walks and 50+ homers in the few seasons before he came to MLB…
…whereupon he hit .191 with 12 homers for the Twins, and then hit .247 with modest power and few walks over a season’s worth of at-bats in AAA in 2016-17.
Then he returned to the KBO and hit .345 with 43 homers last year (2nd to Jae-hwan Kim’s 44) and led the league this year with 33.
Dae Ho Lee followed a similar pattern: raking in the KBO / replacement level in MLB / raking in KBO again. Career AAAA guys like Darin Ruf and Jerry Sands go there and become stars.
Eric Thames had a .727 OPS in 184 games over two MLB seasons before going to Korea and essentially turning into Ted Williams with wheels. He hit .381 with 103 walks, 42 doubles, 47 homers and 40 steals in 2015, and also mashed there in the years before and after. Back in MLB, depsite his hot start in 2017, he’s hit .241 with modest power and an occasional steal in almost 1200 PA.
A useful player, sure, but he was a *beast* in Korea. This guy is not, at least not this year.
That’s not entirely true — yes Parks transition to the majors was a disaster and there have been some AAA/AAAA type guys who have gone over there and put up huge numbers. But there have also been some KBO players who have found some success in the Majors. Jung Ho Kang for example the SS/3B for the Pirates before he had all of his legal troubles put up some solid numbers in the Majors. More concerning would be that he only hit 15 HRs last year — if that’s what he did in Korea chances are he’s not really going to have the pop needed to be a corner OF in the Majors — though previous seasons he showed significant power belting 40 or so bombs a year from 16-18. I think he’s got a shot at signing a minor league deal with a team and showing what he’s got in spring training and hey if he can hit – who knows maybe he’ll get a shot — but anything more than that I think is wishful thinking. Though I do think he seems like there’s some potential there to be a power bat off the bench or platoon guy for some team if he can make adjustments needed
It sounds like the KBO and MLB switched balls last year.
looks like it. a lot of better pitchers in the KBO last year.
Japan bound
He’s a big smooth-swinging corner OF. But not really a power guy. More of a doubles hitter. Austin Meadows type might be a good comp. I’ve always thought he’d have a good chance to succeed in the states.
Apparently he was a C/1B up until 2016, when he was moved to OF/DH. He won a Gold Glove in 2016 but, unlike the MLB version that recognizes defense, the Korean GG award is for the best overall player at a position.
Maybe some team is willing to roll the dice on a cheap 1yr deal
I’d say he could get a 1 year $2 million deal from a non contending team.
This cheese sandwich hardly had any cheese on it.
He will not get any interest. He is a bat-only LF who just posted a sub-0.800 OPS. He is also 31 years old already and a former PED user.