Pittsburgh Pirates win bidding for Jung-Ho Kang
By Aaron Somers
With Saturday’s news that the Nexen Heroes would accept the highest bid on Jung-Ho Kang, the discussion since has focused on determining which team may have won the rights to negotiate with the star shortstop. Reports trickled in throughout the weekend, ruling teams out left and right for a variety of reasons. All along, however, there were a handful of teams that have been linked to the 27 year old for much of the offseason and it was believed that the winning bid must have come from someone in that group.
Instead, Jon Heyman at CBS Sports reported Monday morning that the Pittsburgh Pirates had made the highest bid. Pittsburgh has the next 30 days to negotiate a deal with Kang. Nexen will only receive the posting fee – confirmed as being $5,002,015 – if the two sides reach an agreement within that window.
Kang was a vital piece of the Heroes’ team this past season that reached (but lost in) the KBO Championship Series. Kang batted .356/.459/.739 on the year, hitting 36 doubles and 40 home runs in 117 games (501 plate appearances) en route to winning the league’s MVP Award.
There are no questions that the numbers are impressive on their own, but some context is important. The KBO is a highly hitter-friendly environment, with pitchers averaging an ERA nearly two full runs higher than they do in Major League Baseball. Offensive production of Kang’s magnitude is not common place, but more frequent than one might have otherwise expected. For some perspective, a handful of former MLB players spent 2014 in the KBO and produced the following stat lines:
- Yamaico Navarro: .308/.417/.552 in 602 PA, 31 HR, 98 RBI, 25 SB
- Jorge Cantu: .309/.375/.524 in 419 PA, 18 HR, 72 RBI
- Felix Pie: .326/.373/.524 in 498 PA, 17 HR, 92 RBI
- Brett Pill: .309/.352/.541 in 389 PA, 19 HR, 66 RBI
- Eric Thames: .343/.422/.688 in 514 PA, 37 HR, 121 RBI
None of the five saw prolonged success in the major leagues before going to Korea to continue their careers, though that doesn’t necessarily mean that Kang won’t be able to do so should he join the Pirates. There will be a certain adjustment he’ll need to overcome and the results likely will not be immediate.
Many scouts have openly questioned whether Kang’s power will translate against MLB pitching, projecting that 10-15 home runs may be a more accurate expectation. Questions have also been asked about his abilities defensively, specifically whether he can stick at shortstop or whether he’ll develop into more a utility option long term.
Pittsburgh’s infield appears to already be set in place with Neil Walker at second and Josh Harrison at third. Pedro Alvarez has moved over to first base and Jordy Mercer was set to be the team’s everyday shortstop. Adding Kang into that mix could give the Pirates a very strong offensive core to their infield, while allowing the team to use Mercer off the bench and likely pushing a less experienced option like Pedro Florimon off the roster altogether.
Signing Kang could take much of the next 30 days, but could also develop quickly. Reports have suggested in the past week that he didn’t have a preference for which team won the rights to negotiate with him. He simply wanted an opportunity to play and a respectable contract to match it.