The Wrath of Kang

[pacopete4]

One thing that would make me a little nervous about spending big money on a player making the transition between professional leagues (KBO to MLB) is that Eric Thames went from a sub-.800 OPS and 10 HRs at AAA in 2013 to a 1.111 OPS and 37 HRs in the KBO during the 2014 season (also incidentally his age 27 season). It is only one example, but another guy on Kang's team hit 52 HRs this season. Not quite sure how his 40 HRs power would translate to MLB, especially since his previous high was 25 HRs in a season.

 

It would translate to about 5 HR's a year.

It would more likely translate to solid gap power here. I doubt he will hit double digit HR while in the MLB.

 

 

All things that will never be known unless he actually does come here and play. That is what is scary about signing these guys. Ya just never know who will transition in the MLB and who won't. And it's a lot of money to throw at these guys for a chance.

[BrewBalls]

 

All things that will never be known unless he actually does come here and play. That is what is scary about signing these guys. Ya just never know who will transition in the MLB and who won't. And it's a lot of money to throw at these guys for a chance.

 

This is why large market teams have an advantage with posting players. DM lucked out on Aoki since no one posted a substantial bid for him and he was had for a mere $2.5M. I'm not sure Kang will be had for any bid less than $10M.

[jerichoholicninja]

Former big leaguer Hee-Seop Choi played 7 years in the KBO after leaving MLB. Choi slashed .282/.390/.483/.872 in KBO, Kang has slashed .298/.383/.504/.886. Not all that different. Choi slashed .240/.349/.437/.786 in his MLB career. Is that about what we can expect from Kang, maybe?

 

A .786 OPS in MLB in 2014 would have put Kang 4th among short stops with significant playing time behind Tulo, Hanley Ramirez, and Danny Santana.

[BrewBalls]

Former big leaguer Hee-Seop Choi played 7 years in the KBO after leaving MLB. Choi slashed .282/.390/.483/.872 in KBO, Kang has slashed .298/.383/.504/.886. Not all that different. Choi slashed .240/.349/.437/.786 in his MLB career. Is that about what we can expect from Kang, maybe?

 

A .786 OPS in MLB in 2014 would have put Kang 4th among short stops with significant playing time behind Tulo, Hanley Ramirez, and Danny Santana.

If he can provide average defense at SS he would be a good option for teams looking for a starter.

[SRB]

I suspect Kang is going to be way, way cheaper than some media outlets are speculating. Aoki was a much more accomplished player when he was posted, and he cost peanuts. I just don't think there is a lot of MLB interest in NPB/KBO position players as anything more than fliers (unless they are generational talents like Ichiro, and even he was a huge steal).

[TURBO]

I think he is a risk and flier worth looking into. I wouldn't be surprised if DM hasn't at least looked into it, but someone will more than likely be willing to pay more than us.

[pacopete4]

Sign him and sign Aoki. Then we have a guy that can help him transition.

[JohnBriggs12]

I'd sign him to play 3rd and try to dump Ramirez on somebody (Giants?) desperate for 3B help. You can always move him back to SS if Segura doesn't pan out but Brewers have more SS prospects than they do 3B. Not stepping up and signing Abreu last year cost the Brewers big time. It's time to take a risk.

[Eye Black]

The winning bid for Kang was just over $5 million. The bid was quickly accepted as it was reportedly double what Kang's team expected. Below is a portion of the article and here is the Full Article.

 

SEOUL -- The South Korean baseball club Nexen Heroes on Saturday said they have accepted a US $5 million bid by a Major League Baseball (MLB) club for their posted shortstop Kang Jung-ho, clearing the path for the slugger to play in the big leagues next season.

 

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.

 

Kang is the third KBO player to be posted this offseason and the first-ever position player. The winning bid is the second highest amount for a South Korean player, behind the $25.7 million that the Los Angeles Dodgers put in for left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin in 2012. Ryu later signed a six-year deal worth $36 million.

 

Upon receiving the news of the bid, the Heroes had said earlier on Saturday that they would announce their decision after the weekend. Yet the Seoul-based club wasted little time, and they will soon learn of the identity of the bidding winner.

 

Following the Heroes' decision, the MLB club with the highest bid will have the exclusive right to negotiate with Kang for 30 days. Should the two sides reach a contract, then the Heroes will pocket the money submitted in the bid for Kang as compensation.

 

If Kang fails to sign a contract within 30 days, he cannot be posted again until Nov. 1, 2015. He will then have a choice of entering contract talks with interested teams in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) or return to the Heroes for at least one more season.

 

Kang is represented by Alan Nero, a veteran agent and managing director of the baseball division at Octagon. An informed industry source has told Yonhap News Agency that Nero is seeking a four-year deal worth $5 million per year, a three-year contract for $5.5 million per season or a two-year deal valued at $6 million per season.

 

Through the Heroes, Kang said he is looking forward to the road ahead.

 

"I'd like to thank the Heroes and others who've helped me along the way so far," Kang said. "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."

[JohnBriggs12]

Well it's not like Melvin's been busy doing other things, so we can only hope he was focusing on Kang. Given they were quietly in the Abreu sweepstakes last year, we can only hope. It's been reported that it's not the Mets or the Padres.

[pete]

It seemed like Counsell was in charge of evaluating Aoki. Someone knock on his door and ask. (That's a joke)

[jerichoholicninja]

If it's only going to take $20M over 4 years I would take that risk.

[SRB]

Praying to the Baseball Gods that it's the Brewers, though knowing our luck it will probably be St. Louis...

 

I think if a team offers him 4/$16M or 3/$12M he would have to accept. A $5M posting fee seems a little rich for Milwaukee though, so again I doubt it is us.

[Eye Black]

One small (as in very small) sign that this may not be the Brewers is that the winning bidders finished the bid with "2015" in their posting bid of $5,002,015. Teams that have gotten cute with the last few dollars on previous posting bids include the Yankees and Rangers (and 2006 Red Sox). The Brewers went with a more straight forward approach in their $2,500,000 winning bid for Aoki, although I never got the sense they expected to win the Aoki bidding.

[pete]

Maybe the odd number is because it was a round number in Korean currency.

 

Meanwhile at MLBTR, a few teams that seemed like a fit have been reported to not have bid like the Jays, Mets and Yanks.

 

Its probably not the Brewers, but...

[TURBO]

For that price, we better have been in the mix. That is not a crippling amount of money, we could easily fit that into our budget.

 

Please, please, let it be the Brewers!

[Eye Black]

Meanwhile at MLBTR, a few teams that seemed like a fit have been reported to not have bid like the Jays, Mets and Yanks.

 

Its probably not the Brewers, but...

 

I enjoy this slow process of teams one-by-one being eliminated from contention as the "mystery team".

 

Padres

Mets

Orioles

Yankees

Blue Jays

Dodgers

Giants

 

...only 23 potential suitors to go!

[superfly]

Meanwhile at MLBTR, a few teams that seemed like a fit have been reported to not have bid like the Jays, Mets and Yanks.

 

Its probably not the Brewers, but...

 

I enjoy this slow process of teams one-by-one being eliminated from contention as the "mystery team".

 

Padres

Mets

Orioles

Yankees

Blue Jays

Dodgers

Giants

 

 

...only 23 potential suitors to go!

 

 

I think its the Twins. They need a SS and Plouffe is mediocre. They have a history too (Nishioka or whatever his name was) of Asian players.

[Eye Black]

Can cross some more teams off the potential winning bidder list...

 

Twins

Athletics

Angels

Braves

Rays

Rangers

 

Sounds like the Phillies are the favorites among the remaining list of potential mystery teams which would seem to be a good fit in the wake of losing Jimmy Rollins.

[TURBO]

Latest on Kang, is it possible that the Brewers might have been in on him after all?

 

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that the Cardinals did not place the winning bid for Korean shortstop Jung-Ho Kang.

 

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch previously reported that the Cards were considering a bid, but if they ended up making one it obviously wasn't high enough. In addition to the Cardinals, the Rays, Twins, Yankees, Braves, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Angels, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Orioles and Mets are known to have not placed the winning bid for Kang.

 

Source: Jerry Crasnick on TwitterDec 21 - 9:16 AM

 

 

 

The Rays and Twins aren't believed to be the winning bidders on Korean shortstop Jung-Ho Kang.Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported the Rays news, while Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN relayed the information on the Twins on Twitter. The Giants, per Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News, never made a bid for the services of the 27-year-old. Plenty of teams are being eliminated, but the winning bidder hasn't been identified as of yet.

 

Source: Marc Topkin on TwitterDec 20 - 6:50 PM

 

 

Jim Bowden of ESPN.com reports the Yankees and Braves are two teams that did not submit bids for Korean shortstop Jung-Ho Kang.We know that the Nexen Heroes accepted the highest bid from an MLB team -- slightly over $5 million -- but we don't yet know which team that is. Bowden has eliminated two teams, both of which make sense given that they both appear to be set at the shortstop position. The Padres were previously eliminated by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. We'll likely know which team did win the right to negotiate exclusively with Kang soon.

 

Source: Jim Bowden on TwitterDec 20 - 4:58 PM

[pacopete4]

What's the hold up with saying who won the bid?

[brewcrewdue80]

Can he play 3b? If so, could imagine him being a Super utility in the inf maybe spelling games for Gennett/Segura and of Course ARam when needed?

 

I guess it reads some 8 years ago he did play 3b and played all 9 positions in High School. But that's 10years ago then. He's a Righty hitter so the Gennett platoon would be viable only at 2b vs. Shortstop. Segura is under team control for what? 4more years? That would essentially tie him to SS the 4 years you'd be looking at signing Kang.

 

So I go back to can he play 3b? That would make the most sense for Milw to sign him. Bridge the Gap from ARam injuries to who plays 3b for the next 2 or 3 seasons. At the same time the team may have competition for SS for Segura if he continues to be a .600-ish OPS hitter there.

 

In the perfect world Kang would be 3b for 2016-2018. 2b Platoon with Gennett. And backup ARam/Segura in case of injuries. As been said, ARam seemed to do better when given days off vs being run out there every game.

What was it? 4.5mil a year for 4years? 5mil per for 3? He's the kind of Golden Nugget small market teams like Milw could afford to attempt to hit Paydirt. At the worst you have a 4.5/5mil season Backup. At best you make a 5mil everyday payday of a FA in to a 3-4WAR player which would be valued around 15mil? give or take per season?

[narwhalattack]

There are rumors going around that the Phillies and the Nats are the frontrunners.

[trwi7]

Pirates

 

[pete]

Pirates... I wasn't expecting that.