The Pittsburgh Pirates have won the bidding for Korean infielder Jung-ho Kang, according to Jon Heyman.
pirates won bidding for kang
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 22, 2014
MLBTR detailed the bidding last week, noting that Kang’s team was going to accept the bid. The link also mentions that the bid is approximately $5 M, and that Kang is seeking $5-6 M per year on a multi-year deal over four years.
The Pirates now have a month to sign Kang to a deal. If they can work out a deal, they would pay the posting fee, along with whatever they agreed with for Kang. If they don’t get him signed, he returns to Korea, and they get the posting fee refunded.
Kang is a 27-year-old shortstop in Korea who hit 40 homers last year, with a 1.198 OPS. The KBO is a hitter friendly league, but those are still impressive numbers. There are questions about whether he can stick at shortstop in the majors, with the possibility that he could move to second base or a corner spot. If that power translates to the majors, he should be able to play any infield position.
The Pirates have their infield set in 2015 with Pedro Alvarez/Corey Hart at first, Neil Walker at second, Jordy Mercer at shortstop, and Josh Harrison at third base. There are some question marks surrounding each player. Alvarez is coming off a down year, and Hart is injury prone. Walker is injury prone. Mercer played his first full season last year and struggled the first two months, before putting up solid numbers the rest of the season. Those numbers were similar to what he put up in 2013. The question here is which Mercer will show up in 2015, and whether he can have this success over a full season. Then there’s Harrison, who had a great year in 2015, but comes with the question of whether he can repeat.
In the short-term, Kang could provide some insurance at any of those positions, although shortstop would depend on whether he can field the position. In the long-term, he could be a replacement for Walker or Alvarez, who are both under contract through the 2016 season, or a long-term option if Harrison doesn’t work out at third. With the money the Pirates will be spending on him (if they can get him signed), he is almost certain to play a big role. And if he carries his hitting over to the majors, he could play a big role at any infield position.
UPDATE 1:02 PM: A few links on Kang. First, this article on MLB.com has his reported demands. He is seeking either a four year/$20 M deal, three year/$16.5 M deal, or a two year/$12 M deal. It also says the Pirates won the bidding at $5,002,015.
The second article out of Korea says that Kang wants to face Aroldis Chapman the most out of any pitcher in the majors. He’d certainly get plenty of opportunities if he signed with the Pirates.
UPDATE 1:20 PM: Ben Badler says that Kang has a chance to be a nice bench bat or utility man.
Scouts I spoke with on Kang said he has a chance to be a nice bench bat/utility man. Posting fee reflects that.
— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) December 22, 2014
As for the posting fee comment, if Kang was seen as a guy who was a sure bet to hit for a lot of power, then he probably would have commanded more than a $5 M posting fee. The asking price for Kang, along with the posting fee, might be a bit high for a bench player or a utility player. My guess is that the Pirates see a bigger upside, since they don’t usually make this type of commitment in the international market.
UPDATE 1:54 PM: Badler has more about Kang at Baseball America (for subscribers). The most notable things are that he says Kang has a chance to hit 15-20 homers in the majors with regular playing time, probably won’t be a shortstop, and might not be an everyday player. He also says Kang should start his U.S. career in the majors, meaning no time in the minors would be needed.
UPDATE 1:58 PM: Jeff Sullivan had a good article on Kang, with the following quote providing a nice summary of what you could expect.
It doesn’t get much more unpredictable than Kang, but if he can be anything even close to his ceiling, he’ll end up paid far less than he’s worth.
Basically, no one knows how his bat will translate to the majors, and that’s going to determine what his ceiling could be.
UPDATE 2:11 PM: The Pirates have confirmed that they won the bidding for Kang. Neal Huntington issued the following quote.
“The Pirates are pleased to have secured the opportunity to attempt to add Kang, Jung Ho to our system and look forward to commencing discussions with the Player and his representative in an effort to make that happen.”
The team said there would be no further comment on the negotiations “out of respect for the process.”
UPDATE 6:00 PM: Jon Morosi has quotes from Kang’s agent, Alan Nero, who says Kang is excited about the idea of playing in the majors and for Pittsburgh.
Jung Ho Kang’s agent, Alan Nero, told me after #Pirates won negotiating rights Kang is “very excited” about “challenge” of playing in MLB.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 22, 2014
Nero on Jung Ho Kang: “He knows Pittsburgh had a good team last year and hopes he can help them to the playoffs and World Series . . . ”
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 22, 2014
Nero added that Jung Ho Kang is “looking forward to visiting the city [of Pittsburgh] and meeting the fans.”
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 22, 2014
So, it doesn’t appear Kang’s enthusiasm for signing is tempered by the fact that the Pirates have an incumbent shortstop, Jordy Mercer.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 22, 2014
