According to Korean Baseball News, the Pittsburgh Pirates have reportedly made an offer to 1B/OF Hyun-Soo Kim. The offer is supposedly for approximately $3M per year, though it doesn’t mention whether it was one year or a multi-year deal. The Baltimore Orioles supposedly have a two-year offer on the table for $6-8M total. According to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun, scouts say that Kim projects to hit 15 homers a season and get on base. He plays first base, but his best position is left field. Kim was looking for more money, but he also has a desire to play Major League Baseball.
The 27-year-old has played ten seasons for the Doosan Bears of the KBO. He hit .326/.438/.541 in 2015, hitting a career high 28 homers, while posting a 101/63 BB/SO ratio. He played in a very hitter-friendly ballpark. While a .979 OPS sounds very high, he finished 11th in the league in that category. He has a career .895 OPS. I’ve included a video below of a couple homers he hit.
Korean report: #Pirates made offer to OF, Hyun-Soo Kim for ~$3 million. Doesnt specify total vs. Per yr https://t.co/bwu0TvtwMb
— Han Lee (@1Way_2) December 16, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvHyPTjj3qU
Update 9:30pm: Kim has signed with the Orioles according to Dan Connolly. It’s a two-year deal worth $3.5M per season. The deal is pending a physical.