The Giants informed reporters this evening that rookie center fielder Jung Hoo Lee will undergo surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder (X link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). He’ll miss the remainder of the season.
Lee was one of the top signees of last offseason. San Francisco inked the KBO star to a six-year, $113MM deal after he was posted by the Kiwoom Heroes. It was the fourth-largest free agent guarantee of the winter, trailing only the Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Aaron Nola deals. Lee’s age was a major factor, as he’s only 25. The Giants envisioned him as a top-of-the-lineup hitter who could handle center field on an everyday basis.
The left-handed hitter appeared in 37 games in his debut campaign. He hit .262/.310/.331 with two homers over 158 plate appearances. It wasn’t a great overall showing, but Lee only struck out in 8.2% of his trips to the plate and generally made a decent amount of hard contact. Most of his batted balls were hit on the ground, limiting his power ceiling, but it seemed reasonable to project him for a solid on-base percentage as he continued gaining experience against MLB pitching.
This is the second straight year in which Lee’s season was cut short. He appeared in 86 games before suffering a left ankle injury requiring surgery during his final season in Korea. He sustained the shoulder injury — a dislocation in addition to the labrum damage — when he collided with the Oracle Park wall trying to rob a Jeimer Candelario extra-base hit on Sunday. San Francisco president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic) that Lee also underwent a left shoulder procedure while in Korea back in 2018. This surgery comes with a six-month rehab process, so he should be ready for Spring Training.
San Francisco has a staggering 11 players on the injured list at the moment. Lee is one of six position players on the shelf, including a trio of outfielders. Michael Conforto and Austin Slater are also currently out. The Giants are also without starting shortstop Nick Ahmed and their expected catching tandem of Patrick Bailey and Tom Murphy.
Losing Lee for the season is arguably the biggest hit the Giants have taken so far. Second-year player Luis Matos has stepped in as the primary center fielder in his absence. Matos hit .250/.319/.342 with a pair of homers in 76 games during his rookie campaign. He was out to a very slow start to this season at Triple-A Sacramento, hitting .218/.308/.355 through 143 trips to the plate. Mike Yastrzemski and Heliot Ramos are flanking him in the corners.
The Giants will move Lee to the 60-day injured list when their next need for a 40-man roster spot arises. They’ll need to reinstate him at the beginning of the offseason. He’ll make $16MM next season, $22MM in 2026-27 and $20.5MM annually for the final two seasons of his deal. He can opt out after the 2027 campaign.
Pain
Absolute devastation. Thankfully not his throwing shoulder.
Great signing Giants
That sucks. He was the one beacon of light on an otherwise meh team.
I thought he had a decent shot at ROY.
ROY??? He can’t hit…. Jared Jones and Paul Skenes would need their arms to fall off for him to be even remotely close…. Not to mention countless other position players who can actually hit. And not to mention Yamamoto and Imanaga…. Maybe you meant to say he could MAYBE finish top 10? Lol
ROY Shota is first Yoshinobu and Jared waiting behind Shota
Skenes also a player.
Elly De La Criz has too many prior year at bats to qualify, I think
Lee was not in that mix
Ya, I don’t watch any of those guys.
Bad thought I guess, sorry.
Carry on…
I think it is time for Ramos, Matos and Luciano
Rotation of Webb, Hicks, Snell, Cobb and Ray, plus Harrison
Get Bailey and Soler healthy
Trade Conforto at deadline for a prospect
Hope Flores, Estrada and Chapman start hitting
Wasn’t a bad thought. We’ve played about 25% of the season. Pretty much everyone is in the running for rookie of the year. When we hit the 60%-70% mark it becomes more clear who’s the favorites are.
Lee was having a decent season until his injury. Very contact oriented approach (.262 average) 13 strike outs 10 walks so he puts the ball in player. His babip is a bit low at .273 so there was definitely room for growth. His only knock is he hasn’t really shown power. But playing half your games in SF really drains the power.
Ha ha. Well handled.
But yes, he was tracking well and I’m going to miss watching him.
Travis’Wood, I agree. And I think Lee was way overpaid with that contract (113 millions- 6 years). Ohtani made 42 millions his first 6 years, Michael Harris signed a 72 million contract- 8 years, and he’s just 23. He got an extension during his rookie year and he was ROY. Good hitter and great defender. And there are other proven big leaguers, like Brian Reynolds, that don’t have contracts like Lee’s. In my opinion from what I’ve seen so far, he’s overrated and overpaid. The Giants will now have to play the youngsters, something they should have done since the beginning of the season. So I think this is a bad contract, even when he returns. With all these situations in the roster, the Giants are being forced to begin a real rebuild, something they should have done 2 or 3 years ago.
You do realize it’s May 17th. There’s not a single award won this early in the season. Blake Snell had a 4.60 ERA this time last year and ended up with the Cy Young. I’m sure you would have had a sarcastic response to someone suggesting that he was a candidate last year as well. Jones and Skenes are awesome, but TINSTAPP is a saying for a reason.
Snell had no business winning the Cy last year.
no power, wasn’t even trying to steal bases, and hadn’t played well in CF for a good portion of the season. hurt himself mainly because he’s not a great outfielder. now he’s lost 5 months of development time. Farhan won’t be around to see him get good (if he ever does)
His stats and the voters disagree
His performance as measured by statistics say differently.
Considering he only pitched a 20+ game stretch that hasn’t been matched since Bob Gibson’s magical year more than 50 years ago, your opinion is based not in fact but some fan based prejudice which you are entitled to have.
If you care to see what I’m talking about scroll thru his lines from the middle of May thru end of season – catch how many earned runs he gave up in the Month of September.
Pick and choose whatever months you want. Leading the league in walks with only 180 innings pitched. I thought Webbb deserved it.
GiantJim im no snell fan but leading the league in lowest hits per 9 more than made up for the walks as evidence by his low whip plus a great k rate
And lets not forget the #1 job of any pitcher ..dont let the other team score!..based on Snells league leading lowest ERA nobody did that better over 180 innings..while others gad fine years as well..saying snell had no business winning the CY is just false as even if hadnt we put himself very much in the conversation
Matos, Chapman, amd Estrada are hot right now. Dispite his hot start i dont see Ramos sticking. A .500 babip fueled hot streak is tough to keep going.
You nailed it. Looks like Thairo and Chappy are starting to hit, and Snell is on fire in his rehab starts, so things could be turning around. Def trade Conforto asap, and DFA Slater NOW!
Jackson Merrill should be at least top 3 as of now. Kid’s been one of the top CF’s in baseball.
Have you checked how many guys pitched more than 180 innings since that is your preferred stat to pick and choose from?
I’m not picking and choosing – just stating a fact. I’m not eliminating the first 2 months from the stats to puff them up – I’m using full year stats and he was better over the course of the year than Webb and all others.
Webb had a good year by not CY.
@oldgfan You don’t have to watch those guys to know about them. You only need to look at their stats.
Not a stat head either.
Just a SFG watching guy.
Well, in that case only sfg guys should win awards.
I would not complain..
Not with Shota lol. Lee is so over paid it’s ridiculous
Man, I love making decisions about players after a 37 game sample size. Kim had a rough rookie year and now is capable of 5 to 7 WAR seasons.
Posey’s Thrill Ride; Kim’s contract is 28 million for 4 years. Won’t be a free agent till 2026. This is all about a bad contract (113 million 6 years). You don’t pay that kind of money for a player to “adjust”. Adjust first, then get paid.
apparently you have no problem though making decisions about a player after a couple of ok years though? Kim has had near 5 WAR twice based mainly on defense. not a good hitter, and he’s not hitting well this year either. nothing at all to suggest he will be even close to worth the giant overpaid contract some poor team gives him this offseason (probably be the Giants since they care more about linking up players who like each other instead of good players)
Chip – for the moment, Kim doesn’t have that contract while Lee does – big difference. Also, Kim played the entirety of his contract (so far) and didn’t lose that first year of the crucial development – Lee starts all over again in 2025.
Kim also plays an elite SS which is very valuable as you note his glove and well, has had those 5 WAR seasons in the bank.
I’d much rather pay Kim 6/113 and have him available for SS duty anyday.
That said, I’m not so sure he gets that big of a contract.
Not that he wouldn’t benefit from some adjustment to MLB but he didn’t do anything to be in the ROY convo. As mentioned by other comments there are some clear cut stand outs so far but plenty more are ahead of Lee. I believe he came from the KBO so I do think there’s a bigger adjustment than if he came from Nippon. Japanese league is a lot tougher competition
Beacon of light??
Lee can’t hit
His numbers are awful
He was still adjusting to the MLB. We Giants fans haven’t had much to be hopeful about since Farhan took over. Lee was fun to watch.
fun how exactly? he was a mediocre fielder and a quick, toothless AB almost every time. He got on base ok, but can’t steal bags. We weren’t having “fun” watching him. I guess you just get caught in hype. you probably enjoy Soler too, or Champman’s “all world defense” or something
Matos or Ramos would be of done just fine. Just like Montgomery would of been better than Snell. But its all about common sense. Farhan needs to learn the 5 Ps- Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.
I’m thinking Farhan’s got the entry level sales training slogans covered. Good advice though.
Lee is below average.
GiantJim
Lee is not below average. Overpaid yes. But as a pretty good centerfield defender, I would say Lee is above average. Not a star who gets over $100 million though, to be sure
he isn’t a “pretty good CF defender” though, at least not yet. He got hurt by being a not very good CF defender. he’s fast but he doesn’t really track well and doesn’t have much of an arm. with another year he might be just a wash out there, which would be fine if he could hit…
Lee’s WRC+ is 89. 100 is league average. Lee is below average.
“not much of an arm” – you gotta be kidding..he was throwing lasers out there
Stat readers that have not even seen him play…
Dang, I’ve enjoyed watching him play
A slightly better vs of Duggar lol.
Freaking brutal.
Makes an overpay seem really unfortunate.
Not a massive loss. Guy was 11% below league average for wRC+. and his WAR was slightly above replacement level at 0.3. I’m sure the Giants can find someone else in the minors to replace him.
Not a massive loss in terms of offensive production. But considering he’s 25 and seeing MLB pitching for the first time, it’s certainly possible that he would have grown as a hitter as the season wore on. A slight uptick in launch angle could lead to a drastic uptick in production.
In terms of outfield defense, being a stable everyday presence in the lineup who grinds every at-bat (incredible bat-to-ball skills and very few whiffs), the contagious positivity he shows, his consistent hustle on every play, and how quickly he’s captured the hearts of Giants fans makes this a massive loss in every other facet.
It’s not as crushing as the Buster Posey season-ending injury in May 2011, but it’s the second-most crushing loss I have experienced as a Giants fan in the past 20 years.
Lee is injury prone ( 2nd Shoulder surgery) dude had season ending ankle surgery last year….And he can’t hit
He can’t hit? He’s learning a new league, a new language, and seeing the fastest pitching in the world for the first time. He’s 25 with less than two months of MLB experience and has still shown elite contact skills, a paltry strikeout rate, fearless defense, and hustle that would make Pete Rose blush.
To say he can’t hit, with those peripherals and a low BABIP shows me you don’t watch him every day. He’s not guaranteed to become an All Star caliber player, but he’s a pure hitter through and through.
And would you call someone injury prone if they had two isolated injuries (shoulder and ankle) and then they bashed their shoulder on a violent crash into the wall for a third injury? When I think injury prone, I think of guys who consistently pull something while running or taking a swing, not when they crush a wall while trying to rob a home run.
Time will tell how his career fares in the US, but I’m betting that the bottom line on his first seven weeks isn’t indicative of his MLB ceiling.
Well said meanwhile Bryan Reynolds is making about half what Lees making per year lol.
Cainer 18; What you say is true, but you don’t pay a player 113 million to learn a new league. And he comes from the Korean league, which is not as tough as the Japanese league.
@sf fan You can pay $113M on a gamble when you struggle to develop your own outfielders, have an immediate need in center field, and must take risky moves to hope to compete with the Dodgers, Padres, and Diamondbacks. Two things can be true — the Lee contract can be an overpay/gamble that requires time for him to acclimate to the league, and it can also be a move that fits the Giants’ needs.
the guy is the biggest over exaggerator I’ve ever seen lol. I’m in awe of the homerism on display
Cainer 18; I respectfully disagree because paying 113 million is too much of a gamble. And in terms of competing against the dodgers , etc. ? I don’t think that was going to happen and it won’t in the next few years. I said it before some time ago; you can’t rebuild and hope to compete at the same time. Look at the orioles , diamondbacks. It took some years to be competitive again. The giants need to do something with the farm… better scouting, coaches, I don’t know. But I don’t think paying 113 million to Lee was going to help, not even in the long run. They should’ve sign him maybe for 3 or 4 years for 30 or 40 million. Ohtani made 42 million during his 6 years with the angels. And he came from the Japanese league, not Korea.
One was a free agent the other still in his arbitration years. Apples/oranges
wow, so much hyperbole. what is your real reason for hyping him up? my fellow Giants fans always seem to have something other than on the field stuff to worry about.
I just have to shake my head and laugh at what you wrote again. are you 12? the only thing they have lost is potential develop time for a guy they massively overpaid for while bidding against themselves.
So much hyperbole? Maybe a pinch of hyperbole, but that’s understandable when the Giants’ fun-to-watch new player (who’s quickly become loved by the fans) has a season-ending surgery.
He demonstrably made Giants games more fun to watch, and now he’s done during a time when the team is struggling and a third of the team has hit the IL.
I’m not being a homer, I accept that he’s not guaranteed to be great, or even above average. But I find it hard to stomach when people who clearly don’t watch him play judge him based on seven weeks of play.
The Giants almost certainly overpaid in a vacuum, but they had money burning a hole in their pocket and a glaring need in center field. He’s a fun player who excited the fanbase, hustles literally every play, and shows truly elite bat-to-ball skills as a 25-year-old in his first taste of the best competition in the world. Even if he ends up a 1-2WAR center fielder with no power, he’s an overpay the fits the Giants roster, makes fans excited to watch, and makes them a better team.
So I’m a Padres fan, and can’t stand the Giants, but watched Lee play quite a bit this year because I enjoy tracking prospects, and you can see the tools are there. It’s just a matter of adjusting to mlb pitching. I’d bet he turns into a .280-.300 hitter who makes an all star team or two.
The speed of a 24 year old Jacoby Ellsbury combined with the defense of a 25 year old Kevin Kiermaier combined with the hustle of a 39 year old Peter Rose.
I like your spirit, but I respectfully dissent
LOL this comment
Lee’s arm is barley serviceable in CF and he can’t Hit
haha another massive fanboy here just slobbering. he is not a base stealer, not good defensively, and bad at hitting. hustle? how would you know? he’s hardly done anything. he’s just another loss for farhan
Hahaha! Trolling is fun, huh?
You bet,
Sadness
Seems about right, overpay to keep him away from padres; padres trade his brother in law in nl east, breaks and gets season ending surgery
Wow tough break for him. Godspeed on the recovery. I wanted him for the Yankees, I guess it’s good I’m not the GM. He’s been underwhelming and now he’s looking at 2 years to regain his swing fully.
Does this keep the Giants out of the playoffs now?
Snell, Ray and Cobb are going to need to shine in the second half of season for the Giants to win 80 games
Snell had 10ks across 5 in last AAA rehab start tonight. Should be back next time through I imagine 5 days from today.
Yes I believe somebody somewhere just spit out their wine.
lmao. did they add 4 more WCs to each league?
L giants
Crikey! this blows. I hope they commit to Matos in center now – he’s ready to give it a go
Hold up, this Lee’s 2nd shoulder surgery??
And his KBO season ended early last year because of Ankle surgery?
Zaidi knew this guy is totally injury prone and gave him 140 Million but couldn’t get the Correa deal deal last season because of an injury Correa suffered 10 years ago??
Geez, what a ShittShow
Time to rebuild and get rid of Farhan! Why would you pay this guy $118 million plus posting fee when Bellinger was out there for half that! He looks like he is swinging a sweater in the playground when he takes a hack and the balls barely make it past the infield most of the time and that was one of Farhan’s better moves this offseason. Trade Logan Webb for Jasson Dominguez and Camilo Doval for Coby Mayo and draft in the top 5 for a few years… after firing Farhan of course please please do that first
“When Bellinger was out there for half that”….To be fair, Bellinger at one point was seeking a roughly $250M guarantee. He only became reasonable in price at the very end and that was long after the Giants had already shot their wad. I’m no Farhan defender, but his biggest sins are his lack of direction, drafting and development; but I cannot in good conscience blame him for not signing Belli to a $200M+ contract. I do agree that Farhan Zaidi should not be running a Major League front office.
agreed. Bellinger wasn’t the answer. But they seriously overpaid for Lee. no big deal though, it’s peanuts compared to what a lot of players will be making, just sucks that he’s not a good player. and now he’s hurt so push it out another whole year for him to have any chance to get better.
A giant blow to the team. I know Lee is terribly disappointed, as are all the fans and team. Best of luck in surgery and healing quickly.
I don’t understand as an outsider how the GM still has a job. He has done nothing but poop his pants ever since they hired him.
a lot of the fans would call you a racist for saying that
“A lot of the fans..racist for saying”…If by “a lot of the fans”, you actually mean only you I would agree.
They can call me whatever they want but I’ll be here commenting long after Farnhan is gone and their team starts winning again.
Labrum surgery is never good. Many a player never gets back to their former selves as hitters.
Ack, really like Lee. Speedy recovery!
Speedy recovery!!
And so the disastrous, unintended rebuild begins…
Sucks. I was excited to see what the kid can do. A month is hardly an indication of that.
I guess Andres Torres should of been paid then seeing Lee so far
Hey, Rafael Ortega is available!
He finally got his first hit as a White Sock the other day.
And then promptly got outrighted.
The Outfield fence needs to be fixed.
So he has played only 3 full seasons out of the last six. Porcelain. Lots of outfielders crash into fences. Few end up broken. This is just another example of Farhan’s lack of baseball acumen.
Going through the same emotions as when I found out Jose Fernandez was out for the season.
Another right handed thrower tearing a labrum in his left shoulder. Major surgery but good thing he doesn’t throw lefty.
Really sad to see him miss the rest of the season. As we have seen with Bellinger and others, a labrum tear can affect a player performance for several years after the surgery. I hope he comes back strong because he was a player that gave his all on the field.
All that being said, I am really glad the Padres choose to go with Merrill instead of upping their offer to Lee. They were in on him until the end. One of the top bidders. Sometimes its what you don’t do that makes the most difference.
Pads Fans – agree all the way. For the Preller bashers out there (I consider myself neither a basher or lover but an in the middle call it what it is), Preller should get to add this “not pay” to his list of accomplishments. If he gotten him he surely would be getting even more bashing than Farhan is from the giants fans!
Luis Matos is tearing it up, as is Ramos. The kids have arrived and are fun to watch. Yes there’s some adventurous defense, but at least they’re hitting, of which Jung Hoo wasn’t doing much. Now we just need to DFA Slater, have Snell return to form, and all will be fine in Baghdad by the Bay.
Well that stinks
Just brutal ugh, hate to see it.