MLB Tenders Status Check On KBO Reliever Deok Ju Ham

Major League Baseball has tendered a status check with the Korea Baseball Organization on left-handed reliever Deok Ju Ham, reports Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. The status check is a formal procedure when big league clubs are showing interest in a KBO player. Ham is a true unrestricted free agent due to the fact that he’s already accrued more than nine years of service time in the KBO. As such, he can sign with any team — KBO, MLB, NPB or otherwise — without requiring a transfer via the posting system.

Ham, 29 in January, was a key bullpen arm for the KBO champion LG Twins this past season, pitching to an outstanding 1.62 earned run average with a 26.6% strikeout rate, 9.9% walk rate and 59.8% ground-ball rate in 55 2/3 innings. Injuries limited his innings and effectiveness in 2021-22, but overall Ham possesses a strong track record. Dating back to 2018, he sports a 3.04 ERA with a 23.4% strikeout rate. He’s walked an unsightly 12% of his opponents over that span, but a good portion of those command struggles came during his injury-shortened 2021-22 campaigns (when he dealt with elbow troubles and frequent blister issues, per Yoo). In his past two full, healthy seasons (2020 and 2023), Ham posted walk rates of 8.8% and 9.9%. Those are still sub-par marks but not quite as alarming as walk rates he posted while batting injuries.

The status check from MLB to KBO is a clear indicator that Ham has drawn at least some level of interest from one or more MLB clubs, though the extent of that interest isn’t clear — nor is the identity of the team(s) in question. Status checks on KBO players do not always portend a deal with a big league club, either. It’s possible Ham ultimately prefers to stay in South Korea and/or simply finds more lucrative deals in his current setting.

Yoo notes that Ham features four pitches — four-seamer, slider, curveball, changeup — the best of which is his changeup. That explains Ham’s reverse splits in 2023, as the changeup gives him a weapon to neutralize opposite-handed opponents. Ham is not a hard-thrower, however, and relies more on a deceptive delivery than overpowering stuff.

Because Ham is a true free agent, there’s no set negotiation window with MLB clubs and thus no good way of knowing when he might decide between testing the MLB waters or returning to the KBO (be it with the Twins or a new team in free agency). Given his track record and his excellent platform year with the eventual Korean Series champions, Ham should have offers to remain in South Korea if MLB teams don’t make any compelling offers.

The offseason market for left-handed relievers includes a handful of solid veterans beyond top dog Josh Hader, who could establish a new benchmark for bullpen contracts this winter. Aroldis Chapman, Matt Moore, Wandy Peralta, Brent Suter, Will Smith and star NPB left-hander Yuki Matsui are among the non-Hader options available. One point in Ham’s favor is that he’s considerably younger than most of the other free agents; Matsui is heading into his age-28 season, but the most established lefties on this winter’s market are all in their mid-to-late 30s.