Dodgers Avoid Arbitration With Joe Wieland
The Dodgers have agreed on a 2016 salary with righty Joe Wieland, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. Wieland will reportedly receive $590K next year.
MLBTR and Matt Schwartz had projected Wieland at just the league minimum, with MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes labeling Wieland a possible non-tender candidate even at that price. After all, he’s thrown only 47 2/3 MLB innings while racking up the three-plus years of service time required to qualify for arbitration. (Wieland was on the active roster when it was determined he needed Tommy John surgery.)
Though the soon-to-be 26-year-old is hardly an established major leaguer, the Dodgers obviously didn’t want to risk losing him with a non-tender. Wieland has worked almost exclusively as a starter over his career but could conceivably factor in the major league pen this year. Last season at Triple-A, he tossed 113 2/3 innings of 4.59 ERA ball with 7.3 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9.
MLBTR Mailbag: Royals, Giants, Phils, Cain, Carter
Thanks again for all the great questions this week, and sorry if we couldn’t get to yours.
“Do you think Wei-Yin Chen is a good fit as the Royals’ ace, being as he is a fly ball pitcher that would benefit from the Royals’ large home park and good outfield defense and can regularly pitch until the sixth inning to get to the Royals strong bullpen? If not Chen, who do you think would be realistic free agent targets for the World Champions?” – Jeffrey M.
We’ve heard nothing to suggest and have no real reason to think that the Royals will go after the top three arms still left in free agency. So, if they have any willingness at all to make a long-term pitching investment, it would presumably go towards the second tier of the market. Chen sits just outside the top ten in MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes’s list of the top fifty free agents, sharing general contract expectations with Jeff Samardzija, Mike Leake, and (if posted) Kenta Maeda.
Tim recently broke down Chen’s free agent case and noted the Royals as one of many possible suitors. In addition to the factors you mention, it’s worth noting that the southpaw is represented by super-agent Scott Boras, who reps several other recent Royals signees (Alex Rios, Luke Hochevar, Franklin Morales) as well as several other key players (including Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas).
Money, of course, is the major question. Kansas City could probably fit the 30-year-old on the books, even if he earns something like the five years and $80MM that Tim predicts, but that’d be a major commitment and could tie GM Dayton Moore’s hands in other regards. (More on that below.) Even if he’s got more financial flexibility to work with than he has in the past, Moore’s track record (e.g. Jason Vargas, Jeremy Guthrie) suggests a more modest route is the likelier outcome.
The team does need arms, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained in his offseason outlook for the club, but could aim its sights elsewhere. Quality veterans like Scott Kazmir or Ian Kennedy, both of whom have some upside, will likely be available for more limited commitments. And, of course, there are any number of alternative or additional options on this year’s well-stocked market who will be looking for one or two-year deals.
“Would Mike Leake AND Doug Fister be enough to solidify the Giants’ pitching staff in 2016?” – Bruce E.
Well, those two would certainly add some solid rotation options, so sure, they’d solidify the staff. And you could certainly argue that it’s enough — if you believe that Matt Cain and Jake Peavy can contribute full seasons and that some of the young, untested arms are really ready on standby.
But this is a team that’s trying to win the World Series after largely sitting out major spending last year (despite trying). I think that GM Bobby Evans and co. are looking for more impact than just the two pitchers you mention. That could mean adding a top-of-the-market arm and then tacking on Fister to the back of the staff, or pairing Leake with another mid-level starter.
Of course, there is one other scenario that San Francisco fans can dream about: if the team took the (relatively) modest route of signing Leake and Fister for the rotation, it might be freed to post some big bids on a new bat for left field.
“So since Jason Heyward is still only 26 years old, and would still be in his prime when the Phillies theoretical window of contention opens again, along with the fact that the Phillies have minimal commitments going forward and a lot of money to spend, couldn’t they be a good fit?” – Trevor R.
I’ll agree with you this far: the Phillies should be interested in players like Heyward, they can afford them, and they will look for creative ways to acquire them at a good value, even if it doesn’t perfectly line up with some expected timeline contention. (That’s true, in part, because the team doesn’t really have a timeline. That’ll depend upon internal development and outside opportunities.)
That being said, the free agent market is very rarely a place to go to find such value, at least at its upper echelons. As the Phillies’ MLB roster is in worse shape for current contention than just about any team in the league, we can safely assume that the club would have to beat the market — perhaps by a fair margin — even to get Heyward to consider playing there. And one or two of his prime seasons could be frittered away to rebuilding.
All told, I just don’t see that scenario lining up. Now, if for some reason Heyward badly misplays his hand and needs to be bailed out come February, then it’d be fascinating to see if new GM Matt Klentak could swoop in. But I expect the club to be focused on other ways to take advantage of its open payroll space to build up the talent base for the future.
“The Royals have to begin choosing which players they try and lock up. What would a potential Lorenzo Cain extension look like?” – David S.
Cain is already heading into his age-30 season and can be controlled through 2017 via arbitration. So, in two years time, he’ll basically be in Alex Gordon‘s position in terms of age. Given that Cain projects at $6.1MM this year, another big raise might put him at a total of $16MM or so in earnings before reaching the market.
The comparison to Gordon isn’t a bad one, actually. They are both somewhat reliant on defensive value and have had similar peaks at around 6 to 7 wins above replacement. Cain plays the premium defensive position but Gordon has shown more with the bat (given that Cain hasn’t yet proven he can sustain his power breakout).
If we assume that KC expects Cain to settle in as a 4-to-5 win type of player, and can eventually land something like Gordon probably will (say, four or five years at $20MM+ annually) as a free agent, then you have the makings of a framework. That’s where negotiations come in, of course. If Cain’s reasonable expectation is to max out at, say, $130MM over the next seven years, then the club can try to whittle that back — in terms of guaranteed dollars and years — to a number that makes sense for the organization while providing sufficient security to Cain.
My guess is the team would need quite a significant discount, in terms of guaranteed money, to find a deal palatable. There are, of course, several other extension candidates on Kansas City’s roster that factor into the equation. And Cain is older than the other players (e.g. Hosmer, Moustakas, Alcides Escobar) who could conceivably be extended. The club may have to prioritize among them — though some may not really be interested — and certainly won’t be able to lock up all of them.
“Is there are market for a trade for Chris Carter or should the Astros just non-tender him?” – Bob G.
I feel like there’s some value there, personally. He projects at $5.6MM, which isn’t nothing, but teams will be paying as much or more to get similar offensive expectations from older players in free agency. Carter is going into his age-29 season after averaging thirty bombs annually with a .218/.312/.459 slash over the past three campaigns.
Those are better stats than the older, more expensive Mark Trumbo has managed in the same time span. Plus, unlike Trumbo, Carter has two more years of arb control still to go. It’s certainly possible that he’ll be non-tender fodder after 2016, but what if he launches 45 home runs? There’s a bit of upside in his future contractual rights.
“Any baseball books you guys recommend I get into during the offseason?” – Tom S.
These are a few of my personal favorites: the classic interviews with true old-timers in Lawrence Ritter’s The Glory of Their Times; the indelible account of the Brooklyn Dodgers in The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn; Dan Okrent’s detailed look at all aspects of the game in Nine Innings; and Roger Angell’s awesome, wide-ranging Five Seasons.
Red Sox, Chris Young Agree To Two-Year Deal
TODAY: Boston will guarantee Young $13MM over the two years of the deal, Rosenthal tweets. That puts the contract right in line with recent paydays for strong free agent fourth outfielders. The pre-2014 David Murphy contract — two years and $12MM — represents the closest comp.
Young will earn $6.5MM in each year of the deal, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe adds on Twitter.
YESTERDAY, 5:43pm: Young will receive a two-year guarantee, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
12:29pm: The Red Sox and outfielder Chris Young are in agreement on a multi-year contract, pending a physical, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Young is represented by CAA Sports.
The 32-year-old Young has significantly rebuilt his stock after a dismal showing with the 2014 Mets in which he failed to live up to the club’s one-year, $7.25MM free-agent investment. Young latched on with the Yankees late that offseason and posted an impressive .282/.354/.521 batting line in 79 plate appearances. That showing led to a one-year, $2.5MM contract to return to the Bronx, and Young exceeded expectations on that deal by a fair margin.
In 2015, Young batted a healthy .252/.320/.453 in 356 trips to the plate spread across 140 contests for the Yankees. Young possesses decent pop against right-handed pitching but nearly all of his production comes against lefties at this point. Last season, he logged 175 plate appearances when holding the platoon advantage and batted an incredible .327/.397/.575 with seven home runs. As such, he figures to be held to primarily a platoon role in Boston, though he clearly can deliver a good amount of value at the plate in said capacity.
While Young was at one time to be considered a sound defender in center field, he’s more or less limited to the corners now. He can handle center in a pinch — the Yankees gave him 90 innings there in 2015 –but the Red Sox have multiple options on the roster that project as better defenders in center. In fact, all three of the Sox’ projected starters — Mookie Betts, Rusney Castillo and Jackie Bradley — are capable of handling center (with Bradley likely to see much of the center-field action next season). Bradley is the only left-handed hitter of the bunch, so Young could slot into the lineup in his place against southpaws, with Betts sliding over to center field on those days.
Young is essentially a dead-pull hitter, which should mesh just fine with the Green Monster at Fenway Park. His signing gives the Red Sox a fourth outfield option and also lessens the potential blow if the Sox are to indeed trade one of Bradley or Castillo, as some have speculated. (The notion of a Betts trade teeters on the brink of unfathomable at this point.) In the event of a trade, the Sox could then pursue free-agent (or trade) upgrades in the outfield or simply platoon Young with the left-handed-hiting Brock Holt, who has more than his fair share of outfield experience.
Boston’s 40-man roster is full at this juncture, so the Sox will have to make a move in order to accommodate Young if and when he passes his physical exam to make the deal official.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Johnny Cueto’s Asking Price
10:46pm: Arizona’s interest in Cueto was and perhaps still is rather intense, according to reports. The organization sent a delegation including GM Dave Stewart, chief baseball officer Tony La Russa, and president Derrick Hall to the Dominican Republic to meet with the righty, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. And the D’backs still have interest after the initial offer was rebuffed, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter), who adds that the club “realize[s]” that Cueto can command more than a $20MM AAV over six years after Jordan Zimmermann got $22MM annually for five.
Of course, the Diamondbacks aren’t alone in pursuing the veteran. Among the other teams to reach out to his representatives are the Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox, and Cubs, per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. That group of large-market contenders has always figured to factor at the top of the free agent pitching pool.
11:52am: Johnny Cueto reportedly rejected a six-year, $120MM contract offer from the D-Backs recently, and ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick now reports that teams in the market for Cueto believe he’s seeking $140-160MM in total — a contract that would vault him into Jon Lester territory (Twitter link). According to Crasnick, the Diamondbacks initially planned to offer Cueto about $110MM but upped their offer to $120MM late in talks (Twitter link). The increase, however, wasn’t enough to get the job done.
It would seem, then, that Cueto’s camp is seeking a contract that doesn’t offer any sort of reduced rate due to the minor elbow issues that plagued Cueto this summer or due to his late-season struggles. Cueto was masterful in his first four outings with the Royals, pitching to a 1.80 ERA in 30 innings, including a complete-game shutout of the Tigers. However, he limped to a 6.49 ERA over his final nine starts (51 1/3 innings). There were a few quality starts mixed in toward the end, but many speculated as to whether Cueto was fully healthy. Cueto and Salvador Perez reportedly worked to adjust where Perez would set the target for Cueto’s pitches, but he still had mixed results from that point forth.
Cueto’s postseason was a true mixed bag — one so-so start, one meltdown and a pair of dominant gems in pivotal games. His final outing — a one-run complete game over the Mets in Game 2 of the World Series — was a nice final impression to make as he headed into free agency. Nevertheless, Cueto’s overall body of work following his mild elbow flare-up and trade to the Royals saw him yield 58 earned runs in 106 1/3 innings (4.91 ERA) with a 75-to-27 K/BB ratio and 118 hits (13 homers) allowed.
None of that is to say that Cueto can’t or shouldn’t secure a hefty payday, of course. Despite those issues, the perception of Cueto has remained that he’s one of the three or four best starters on the market (depending on one’s feelings about Jordan Zimmremann), and we at MLBTR still projected him to clear $100MM with relative ease (though the $120MM he rejected already surpassed our most recent $115MM figure). Prior to those issues, a Lester-esque contract was a perfectly reasonable expectation for Cueto, and the possibility that he exceeded that figure was certainly present. Cueto, after all, logged a 2.48 ERA in 677 1/3 innings from 2011-14 despite pitching his home games in one of baseball’s most hitter-friendly parks, and he carried a similarly elite 2.62 ERA and a 120-to-29 K/BB ratio through 130 2/3 innings with the Reds this season.
Cueto is a clear front-line starter when healthy and at his best, and he’s entering the open market heading into his age-30 season, having not yet even celebrated his 30th birthday as of this writing. That he’s already received a $120MM offer suggests that the demand for his services is strong, which certainly plays into his camp’s favor as the Winter Meetings approach.
Matt Hague Signs With Hanshin Tigers
NOVEMBER 30: The deal is official, Hague himself announced on Twitter.
NOVEMBER 25: The Blue Jays have reached an agreement with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball that will send Triple-A International League MVP Matt Hague to Hanshin in exchange for $300K, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The deal isn’t yet complete, according to Nicholson-Smith, but Hague has been removed from Toronto’s 40-man roster.
In situations such as this, the money exchanged will typically serve as compensation for the team’s agreement to release the player, who is then free to sign a new, more lucrative contract with the overseas club. It’s not clear what type of contract Hague will receive in Japan, but he’ll certainly earn more than he would have with another up-and-down season with a Major League organization and could very well secure $1MM or more.
Hague, 30, had the best all-around Triple-A season of his career in 2015, batting .338/.416/.468 with 11 home runs in 596 plate appearances. While the home runs were shy of his previous career-highs, he’s never hit for the type of average or gotten on base at that lofty a rate previously. Hague split his time evenly between first base and third base this past season but has a good deal more experience playing first base in his career as a whole.
The Blue Jays claimed Hague off waivers from the Pirates in 2014 based on the strength of his Triple-A numbers, but while he continued his excellent minor league production with Toronto, he received just 15 plate appearances on a Major League club rife with potent corner options (most notably Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion but also Chris Colabello, Justin Smoak and, earlier in the season, Danny Valencia as well). Hague is a career .226/.286/.262 hitter in a small sample of 91 Major League plate appearances but has a far more robust triple-slash of .302/.377/.433 across parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level.
Royals Avoid Arbitration With Tim Collins
The Royals have agreed to contract terms with lefty Tim Collins to avoid arbitration, the club announced. Collins will earn $1.475MM for the 2016 season, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports on Twitter.
That’s exactly what he made last year and what MLBTR predicted for the coming campaign. The reason: Collins, 26, missed all of 2015 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March.
Truth be told, it’s now been some time since Collins has been at his best. He also dealt with forearm and elbow issues in 2014, throwing only 21 big league frames while watching his strikeout rate plummet to a personal low of 6.4 batters per nine. (Collins did get about twice as much work in Triple-A that season, putting up much better numbers there.)
Obviously, though, the Royals believe in his arm. While he’s small in stature, Collins still delivers his average fastball in the 92 to 93 mph range. And between 2012 and 2013, he logged 123 innings of 3.44 ERA ball with 10.6 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9. Most importantly, perhaps, Collins has actually been slightly better against right-handed batters.
With age still on his side, there’s still plenty of potential value there for the defending World Series champs, who haven’t shied from taking injury risks on relievers in recent years. It’s not entirely clear when Collins will be ready for full action, but Kansas City will probably be looking for other southpaw pen additions regardless of when that’s expected. The club’s only two southpaws to top twenty innings out of the pen last year — Franklin Morales and Brandon Finnegan — have been lost to free agency (at least for the time being) and trade, respectively.
Mariners Have Interest In Nori Aoki
The Mariners have shown interest in free agent outfielder Nori Aoki, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. It’s still not clear whether talks will progress to a deal, Dutton’s source noted.
Aoki, 33, had a solid first half last year with the Giants but struggled down the stretch with a fairly significant concussion issue. While we’ve heard indications that he’ll be at full strength, San Francisco declined to pick up his seemingly reasonable $5.5MM option. Of course, it could be that the team simply decided to go in another direction.
He’s hardly an exciting player, but Aoki has been slightly above average at the plate, rather consistently, in his four years since coming to the majors. His .287/.353/.380 slash was good for a 112 wRC+ last year, and both UZR and DRS rated him as an average or better option in the corner outfield. Though Aoki’s overall baserunning numbers weren’t favorable in 2015, he managed to swipe 14 bags in just 93 games.
For Seattle, Aoki would likely slot in as part of an outfield rotation. The club’s possible outfield mix currently features two lefty bats (Seth Smith and Leonys Martin) and three righties (Nelson Cruz, Franklin Gutierrez, and Mark Trumbo). (Of course, some of those players could also factor in at DH and first.) It’s not immediately obvious how things would work out if Aoki were to be added, but it’s worth recalling that new GM Jerry Dioto has already done a lot of asset shifting this winter and could have more in store.
Cubs Notes: Samardzija, Zobrist, Leake, Lackey
ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers has penned a column on the status of the Cubs’ targets in free agency at present. To this point, the team hasn’t given any indication that a pursuit of either Zack Greinke or Johnny Cueto is a possibility, leaving David Price as the sole top-tier arm that the Cubs could be expected to pursue, Rogers writes. The Cubs’ Plan B in terms of free-agent pitchers focuses on Jeff Samardzija at this point, according to Rogers, and sources tell him that the team is also in the mix for Ben Zobrist. Signing Zobrist would all but ensure a trade of Starlin Castro, but of course, there is widespread interest in Zobrist, who is one of the most popular free agents on this year’s market. Rogers lists Jason Heyward as a perhaps speculative target but notes that president Theo Epstein has pointed out in the past how young the game is getting, and Heyward, 26, would indeed fit into the Cubs’ youth movement in terms of position players. I’d imagine that signing Heyward would create further trade speculation surrounding Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber, though Rogers doesn’t indicate that Heyward is a top target of the Cubs as things presently stand, so much of that speculation would be putting the cart before the horse.
Here are a few more notes pertaining to the Cubs…
- CSN Chicago’s David Kaplan hears that the Cubs are active on many fronts at this point but still doesn’t believe that the Cubs will be significant players for Price or Greinke (links to Twitter). Kaplan hears that the Cubs are currently active on the trade market and are also in touch with the representatives for Samardzija, Mike Leake and John Lackey. Unsurprisingly, the Cubs’ highly touted farm system has many names that are in high demand as the team explores the trade market for starting pitching. Any of Samardzija, Leake or Lackey would give the Cubs a strong third starter to slot behind Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester in the rotation.
- Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune writes that the difference between this winter and last offseason for the Cubs is that Epstein & Co. can now sell prospective free agents on the allure of joining a contender rather than preaching patience and trust that the rebuild will deliver a winning club. Epstein also explained to Sullivan a number of non-monetary incentives that the Cubs pitch to players, including the team’s new clubhouse and the programs the Cubs have set up for the families of players to enjoy upon relocating to Chicago. “Just little things behind the scenes we do that really impact the lives for our players’ families they may not be aware of,” said Epstein. Of course, as Sullivan notes, those factors alone probably won’t outweigh the difference between tens of millions of dollars, but they could help tip the scales in Chicago’s favor should they make a similar offer to another club for a free agent target.
- Epstein noted today that the club’s early-offseason moves haven’t been without their importance, as Rogers reports. “Depth is underrated, especially in the winter,” said Hoyer. “Everyone will write out lineups in the offseason and they don’t focus on bench, they don’t focus on the bullpen, they don’t focus on guys in Triple-A that are going up and down. Over the course of six months, those are the little moves that make a huge difference.” But Hoyer made clear that more impactful transactions are coming in the near term, with the organization prepared to adapt as the market explodes. “You have to stay nimble and know things will come at you that you might not have expected,” he said. “Some team will throw an idea at us that we never thought about.”
Braves Sign Jim Johnson
5:28pm: The deal is for $2.5MM, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets.
5:04pm: The Braves have signed righty Jim Johnson to a one-year deal, the club announced via press release. Johnson, 32, is a client of Moye Sports Associates.
With the move, Atlanta has re-acquired one of the many players it traded away least year. Johnson was a part of the 13-player deadline swap between the Braves and Dodgers that also saw several more controllable assets change hands.
Johnson first joined the Braves on a fairly cheap, one-year deal after enduring a disastrous 2014 campaign. He bounced back nicely, tossing 48 innings of 2.25 ERA ball with 6.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.
But things turned south again once Johnson reported to Los Angeles. He surrendered 21 earned runs in just 18 2/3 innings of work for the Dodgers. While he upped his strikeouts (to 8.2 K/9) and held his walk rate to under three free passes per nine, Johnson was done in by an over-.400 BABIP and 1.4 HR/9 rate in L.A.
The Braves will hope that Johnson can once again steer clear of the control problems that ruined his 2014 season while continuing to generate something close to the 58.3% groundball rate he owns for his career. Metrics tend to think his ultimate 4.46 ERA last season was somewhat unlucky. Another feather in his cap: Johnson continues to deliver about a 94 mph average fastball, and even trended up in velocity last year.
Atlanta has long been said to be targeting bullpen upgrades this winter. The team has relatively few sure things in the pen, though it received a promising campaign from Arodys Vizcaino and will eventually bring back the injured Jason Grilli. It’s not immediately clear whether the addition of Johnson means that the club will bow out of the higher-end pen market — where it’s been said to have at least done some window shopping — but Bowman adds on Twitter that “a setup man and another lefty reliever” remain on the organization’s shopping list.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AL Central Notes: Fuenmayor, Victorino, Zimmermann, Park
Royals first base prospect Balbino Fuenmayor — one of the more intriguing candidates to be selected in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft — is progressing very well in his recovery from a torn ACL this past summer, as recently noted by his agents at True Gravity Sports. Fuenmayor underwent surgery to repair the ligament on Aug. 3 but is running multiple times per week at present and is on track to begin baseball activities in early January. Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper recently listed Fuenmayor as one of the most plausible Rule 5 targets. The slugger, who was out of affiliated baseball at the age of 23 after receiving a huge bonus from the Blue Jays as a 16-year-old, reestablished himself on the independent circuit and returned to minor league ball in dominant fashion this past season, hitting .358/.384/.589 with 17 homers in 89 games before suffering his injury.
A few more items pertaining to the AL Central…
- The Indians are currently showing the most interest in outfielder Shane Victorino, sources tell Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (Twitter link). Cleveland was known to be on the hunt for outfielders even before Michael Brantley underwent shoulder surgery that will sideline him into next season, but that injury likely increased the team’s urgency to add some outfield help. Cleveland, as Bradford points out, had interest in Victorino before he signed in Boston and even offered him a four-year contract. Victorino, though, took three years to head to the Red Sox instead.
- The trades to acquire Francisco Rodriguez and Cameron Maybin earlier this month allowed the Tigers to sign Jordan Zimmermann, writes MLive.com’s James Schmehl. Filling a pair of holes without making lavish financial commitments allowed the Tigers to spend a more considerable sum than most had anticipated on a free-agent starter. Zimmermann said at today’s press conference that he was the second or third choice for a number of teams to whom he and agent Mark Pieper of Relativity Sports spoke, but the Tigers had him atop their list and wanted to sign quickly, which appealed to him (via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, on Twitter).
- Byung-ho Park arrived in Minneapolis today, reports Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and his agent, Alan Nero of Octagon, is expected to arrive in the next day or so to finalize a contract with the Twins. Park said he’s spoken to countrymen Shin-Soo Choo and Hyun-jin Ryu as well as close friend Jung Ho Kang about the transition to Major League Baseball, with each encouraging him that he will adapt to the new league well. Park told Miller, via interpreter, that his goal is to remain in Major League Baseball for the rest of his career. Miller notes that Park does speak some English and is working on learning more as he prepares for the next phase of his career.