According to the Yonhap News Agency, a "yet-to-be-identified" big league club has won the bidding war for 27-year-old shortstop Jung-ho Kang.
The Heroes made the decision just hours after the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) informed them of the result of the MLB-wide silent auction for the 27-year-old player. The Heroes said the amount of the winning bid was $5,002,015.
Now that the Nexen Heroes, Kang's KBO team, have accepted the bid, the Major League club will earn 30-day exclusive rights to negotiate with Kang. The Heroes will only earn the bidding money, however if a contract agreement has been made between both parties. If the bid is rejected, or if a contract fails to be agreed upon prior to the signing period coming to a close, Kang will have to wait until November 1, 2015 to be posted for MLB teams again. He would then only be able to sign within the Japanese Nippon Profession Baseball (NPB) league, or return to the Nexen Heroes of Seoul, South Korea.
The Heroes fully support Kang and his decision to play in America, and thus had no reluctance to accept the highest offer. They have yet to be informed of the team who won the bidding. An official with the team states:
"There's no shift to our team's stance that we will be fully supportive of Kang Jung-ho's attempt to play overseas."
Kang's agent, Alan Nero, reportedly seeks either of the following contracts:
- Four-year deal; $5 million per year
- Three-year deal; $5.5 million per year
- Two-year deal; $6 million per year
Two other players from the KBO were posted this offseason. Left-hander Kim Kwang-hyun, 26, of the SK Wyverns went to the contract negotiation stage with the San Diego Padres after an accepted $2 million bid, however an agreement was not reached. The Kia Tigers' left-hander Yang Hyeon-jong, 26, received a bid from the Minnesota Twins, however it was rejected by his Korean club.
Hyun-jin Ryu of the Los Angeles Dodgers thus far is the only South Korean athlete to make the transition from the KBO to Major League Baseball via the posting process. Jung-ho Kang, the first position player ever to be posted from the league, hopes to be the second:
"I'd like to thank the Heroes and others who've helped me along the way so far. I think this is only the beginning. As the first position player from Korea to be posted, I am excited about the challenges ahead, and I am also feeling a strong sense of responsibility."
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | TB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 19 | Hyundai | KBO | 10 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | .150 | .150 | .200 | .350 | 4 |
| 2007 | 20 | Hyundai | KBO | 20 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .133 | .133 | .133 | .267 | 2 |
| 2008 | 21 | Woori | KBO | 116 | 408 | 362 | 36 | 98 | 18 | 1 | 8 | 47 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 65 | .271 | .334 | .392 | .726 | 142 |
| 2009 | 22 | Woori | KBO | 133 | 538 | 476 | 73 | 136 | 33 | 2 | 23 | 81 | 3 | 2 | 45 | 81 | .286 | .349 | .508 | .857 | 242 |
| 2010 | 23 | Nexen | KBO | 133 | 522 | 449 | 60 | 135 | 30 | 2 | 12 | 58 | 2 | 2 | 61 | 87 | .301 | .391 | .457 | .848 | 205 |
| 2011 | 24 | Nexen | KBO | 123 | 504 | 444 | 53 | 125 | 22 | 2 | 9 | 63 | 4 | 6 | 43 | 62 | .282 | .353 | .401 | .754 | 178 |
| 2012 | 25 | Nexen | KBO | 124 | 519 | 436 | 77 | 137 | 32 | 0 | 25 | 82 | 21 | 5 | 71 | 78 | .314 | .413 | .560 | .973 | 244 |
| 2013 | 26 | Nexen | KBO | 126 | 532 | 450 | 67 | 131 | 21 | 1 | 22 | 96 | 15 | 8 | 68 | 109 | .291 | .387 | .489 | .876 | 220 |
| 2014 | 27 | Nexen | KBO | 117 | 501 | 418 | 103 | 149 | 36 | 2 | 40 | 117 | 3 | 3 | 68 | 106 | .356 | .459 | .739 | 1.198 | 309 |
| 9 Seasons | 902 | 3560 | 3070 | 470 | 916 | 193 | 10 | 139 | 545 | 51 | 28 | 387 | 601 | .298 | .383 | .504 | .886 | 1546 | |||
Kang is listed as 6'0" tall and 180 lb. As seen from the statistics provided by Baseball-Reference.com above, his numbers have grown exponentially with experience. Projecting Kang's 2014 production within 117 games out to a full, 162-game MLB season would yield 55 home runs and 162 runs batted in.
Even if Kang would be a filler in the Phillies' rebuilding process until prospect J.P. Crawford is ready, he immediately would draw fans back to the stands of Citizens Bank Park assuming he puts up any resemblance of his KBO production. Kang does have experience at other positions, however, and would not necesarily have to block the "grooming process" for the shortstop of the club's future:
Kang, a former catcher, is known for a strong arm but also has a reputation for botching routine plays. Given his lack of agility and range at shortstop, some MLB teams are said to be interested in Kang as a third baseman or a second baseman.
The Phillies have already missed out on Rusney Castillo last season, and Yasmany Tomas this offseason. Sure, they may have swung and missed with Miguel Afredo Gonzalez, and there's nothing to say Kang will be able to succeed in Major League Baseball. In my opinion however, signing Kang is a risk general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. must and should take.
Let's hope they are the "mystery team" this go-around.
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is a contributor to Philliedelphia.com.
