Major U.S. media predict big contracts Kiwoom, which will get Postingbee, is also expected to be a big hit
Lee Jung-hoo 25, Kiwoom Heroes, who is seeking to advance to the Major League MLB, has started a new challenge in earnest. The MLB Secretariat notified 30 MLB clubs that Lee Jung-hoo's posting closed competitive bidding period will begin at 10 p.m. on December 5 8 a.m. ET in Korean time. Lee Jung-hoo is free to negotiate with all MLB clubs until the posting deadline of 7 a.m. on January 4 next year 5 p.m. on January 3rd, Eastern time. If he fails to agree to join the team within this period, he will have to push for another entry into MLB after November 1 next year. However, it seems unlikely that Lee Jung-hoo will be able to find his team within a month. Many MLB clubs have already shown interest in Lee Jung-hoo even before the posting, and as soon as the posting begins, local media are scrambling to pour out rosy prospects.
History of posting before Lee Jeong-hoo
If Lee Jung-hoo succeeds in entering the MLB, he will be the seventh KBO-based player to play in the U.S. Major League Baseball through the posting system. The first ever case was Choi Hyang-nam, a pitcher who played for the Lotte Giants in 2009. However, Choi, who was 38 years old at the time, was a case who put more weight on the "dream challenge" of "I want to step on the mound in the big league at least once" rather than succeeding in the MLB. He posted a promise with Lotte in advance that "the posting fee will send you even a dollar," and in fact, he signed a minor league contract with Choi after the St. Louis Cardinals wrote down the cheap price of $101. Choi returned after failing to play in the big league.
Later in late 2012, pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, a member of the Hanwha Eagles, became the first KBO League player to post a new record in MLB history. At the time, the team that submitted the largest amount of money to bid for the posting had exclusive right to negotiate, and the LA Dodgers spent a whopping 25.737,737 dollars to recruit Ryu. With that money, Hanwha built a training ground and lodging for the Futures League in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province. The contract between Ryu and the Dodgers was also guaranteed at 36 million dollars for six years. Ryu left for MLB confidently after being treated according to his status as Korea's top pitcher at the time.
Two years later, at the end of 2014, Kang Jung-ho, a shortstop for the Nexen Heroes who is the same age as Ryu Hyun-jin, signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The posting fee was 5 million dollars, 2015, and the terms of the contract were 11 million dollars for four years. The following year, at the end of 2015, Park Byung-ho, a first baseman of the Nexen Heroes, garnered 12.85 million dollars in posting fee, and signed a four-year, 12 million dollar contract with the Minnesota Twins. At the end of 2019, SK Wyverns pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun succeeded in joining the MLB after his second attempt at posting. The St. Louis Cardinals paid 1.6 million dollars for posting fee and took Kim Kwang-hyun for two years and 8 million dollars.
A year later, Kim Ha-sung, a key shortstop at Kiwoom, wore the San Diego Padres uniform for posting fee of 5.25 million dollars and a four-year contract of 28 million dollars. This year, in his third year since joining the team, Kim Ha-sung has clearly established himself as a major powerhouse of San Diego, as he was used as the first hitter in the batting order while playing shortstop and second baseman. He was also the first Korean player to receive the Gold Glove Award, which is given to the player who defended the best in the big league in that year. He was one of the three finalists in the shortstop category last year, but this year, he had the pleasure of being selected as the first winner in the new utility category.
The total amount of the contract is more than $50 million?
Outfielder Lee Jung-hoo, who is close to Kim Ha-sung, is certain to take the big league stage through the posting system for the fourth time ever as a player from Kiwoom. Lee Jung-hoo made a name for himself as a genius hitter representing the KBO League by winning the 2022 regular season MVP after joining Nexen after receiving the first nomination in 2017 and winning the Rookie of the Year award. Kiwoom, which had paid a total of $23,377,015 in posting fees by sending three major infielders to MLB, readily accepted Lee Jung-hoo's request for posting, which filled seven professional seasons.
The posting fee that Kiwoom will get depends on the total amount of Lee Jung-hoo's contract. Once Lee Jung-hoo signs a contract for less than $25 million, he or she will receive 20% of the total guarantee amount. If the total amount of the contract is between $25 million and $50 million, 20% of the minimum baseline of $25 million $5 million and 17.5% of the guaranteed amount exceeding $25 million will be paid as posting fees. In addition, if Lee Jung-hoo signs an amount exceeding $50 million, he will receive 20% of the $25 million, 17.5% of the $25 million to $50 million, and 15% of the $50 million excess.
Locally, Lee Jung-hoo's contract is expected to easily exceed 50 million dollars. Leading U.S. sports media have been predicting large-scale contracts such as five-year, 63 million dollars ESPN, four-year, 60 million dollars MLB Network and five-year, 56 million dollars The Athletic since the end of last month. Even Lee Jung-hoo's agent is Scott Boras, MLB's biggest agent. Boras is famous for selecting players to become his clients and drawing up "class strongest" contracts. As Lee Jung-hoo's ability and value add to his negotiation ability and competition among big market clubs, the ransom continues to soar. ESPN raised the price sharply, saying in an article published on December 8, "Lee Jung-hoo may exceed the contract terms of last year's 59 years and 90 million dollars for Masataka Yoshida Boston Red Sox." CBS Sports also predicted a 69 million-year contract, saying, "The team that recruits 25-year-old Lee Jung-hoo will be in his prime together." This is certainly good news for both Lee Jung-hoo and Kiwoom.
San Francisco and Mets interested
It is his new team that is drawing as much attention as the size of Lee Jung-hoo's contract. The New York Post wrote, "There are 20 teams out of 30 teams that are looking for Lee Jung-hoo." Among them, the San Francisco Giants in the National League West are the team that most actively sent Lee Jung-hoo several love calls. In February this year, they sent scouts to Kiwoom's Arizona spring camp to closely observe Lee Jung-hoo. Pete Putila, the general manager of San Francisco, visited Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul in October to watch Lee Jung-hoo's last at-bat of the season and give him a standing ovation.
Bob Melvin, who took over as San Francisco's new head coach at the end of this year, publicly mentioned Lee Jung-hoo's name, saying, "Our team needs a new center fielder who is athletic and has strong defense." Melvin is the manager who took the helm of San Diego this year and appointed Kim Ha-sung as the starting lineup for the infield. In fact, San Francisco urgently needs to reinforce its central defense next season. "San Francisco is eyeing Lee Jung-hoo to upgrade its position as a center fielder," MLB said, "Lee Jung-hoo, who won the five-time Golden Glove in Korea, is a center fielder with strong defense capabilities. If San Francisco recruits a professional center fielder such as Lee Jung-hoo and Cody Bellinger, it can improve its defense overall."
The New York Mets, a "rich club," also seem to be making no secret of their interest in Lee Jung-hoo. The Mets, whose owner is billionaire Steve Cohen, have attracted outstanding players in recent years by banking on their enormous financial power. It was too quiet in this stove league, which drew attention, but USA Today said, "Metz is definitely interested in Korean center fielder Lee Jung-hoo." The day after Lee Jung-hoo's posting was announced, AM New York, a local daily newspaper, put Lee Jung-hoo's name, who has not yet signed with the Mets, on the ninth batting order in an article titled "The 2024 Mets' starting lineup expected based on David Stearns' remarks." Stearns is the president of the Mets' baseball operations. It can be guessed that he clearly expressed his willingness to recruit Lee Jung-hoo to local reporters he met at the MLB Winter Meeting.
AM New York said, "Lee Jung-hoo is preparing to leave the KBO league and make a leap toward the big league. He is the most meaningful wild card among the Mets' next year's lineup." The media also said, "It is still questionable how effective Lee Jung-hoo will be in the MLB. He has a batting average of 0.340 in seven seasons in Korea, but the KBO is a league comparable to that of the Minor League Double A," adding, "Lee Jung-hoo's contact ability is undeniable. It can be a solid piece that will serve as a link in the Mets' lower lineup." The media also wrote down Lee Jung-hoo's defensive position as "left fielder" and suggested, "To adjust to MLB life more easily, it would be better to move to left fielder than center fielder who was mainly in the KBO." 스포츠토토사이트
San DiegoSudden Rise
Kim Ha-sung's team San Diego has also begun its bid to recruit Lee Jung-hoo. MLB Network's John Hayman reported on Dec. 7 that Juan Soto and Trent Grisham, San Diego's main outfielders, will move to the New York Yankees. "There are rumors that San Diego will recruit Lee Jung-hoo, a KBO-based outfielder. San Diego could be a strong destination for Lee Jung-hoo." "San Diego has saved more than 30 million U.S. dollars a year by sending Soto to the Yankees," MLB's Mark Feinsand also quoted a source as saying. "The only main outfielder left in San Diego is Fernando Tatis Jr. and Lee Jung-hoo is on the list of candidates for San Diego. The contract could be signed quickly."
The prospect that San Diego may recruit Lee Jung-hoo has been around for a long time. This is because A.J. Preller, the general manager of San Diego, who experienced success by leading the recruitment of Kim Ha-sung, also showed great interest in Lee Jung-hoo. However, San Diego has solid outfielders such as Soto, Grisham, and Tatis Jr., so even if Lee Jung-hoo signed the contract, there seemed to be no place right now.
Things have changed, however, when San Diego agreed to a large trade deal to send Soto and Grisham to the Yankees and bring in four pitchers and a catcher. With two key outfielders out, San Diego is likely to make all-out efforts to recruit Lee Jung-hoo in the future. MLB said earlier that if San Diego trades Soto and strengthens the mound, Lee Jung-hoo could be more free to recruit Lee Jung-hoo. "Lee Jung-hoo is close with infielder Kim Ha-sung who won the Gold Glove." There is a high possibility that there will be a fierce battle between big market clubs that need Lee Jung-hoo in the future.
However, the Yankees, who were known as one of the teams with keen interest in Lee Jung-hoo, seem to take a step back. Yankees also had in mind to recruit Lee Jung-hoo because they did not have a good left-handed batter outfielder, but they now have leeway after securing another left-handed outfielder Soto following Alex Verdugo, who played for Boston. Now, the Yankees are expected to turn their attention to strengthening the mound and enter the race to recruit Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the ace of the Orix Buffaloes in the Japanese professional baseball league.