Minnesota Twins win the right to negotiate with Byung-Ho Park
On Friday, Han Lee of Global Sporting Integration revealed that the Nexen Heroes of South Korea’s KBO League had accepted a $12.85 million posting bid for first baseman Byung-Ho Park.
Today Jeff Passan reported that the Minnesota Twins posted the winning bid. By posting the highest bid, the Twins now have a 30-day window to exclusively negotiate a deal with Park. If a deal can’t be reached in that time frame, Park will return to the Heroes and the posting fee will be refunded to Minnesota.
One look at Park’s numbers reveals that he is one of the most prolific power hitters in the KBO. Below are his stats from the past four seasons (courtesy of Baseball-Reference):
| Year | Age | AgeDif | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 25 | -3.3 | Nexen | KBO | Fgn | 133 | 560 | 469 | 76 | 136 | 34 | 0 | 31 | 105 | 20 | 9 | 73 | 111 | .290 | .393 | .561 | .954 | 263 | |
| 2013 | 26 | -2.5 | Nexen | KBO | Fgn | 128 | 556 | 450 | 91 | 143 | 17 | 0 | 37 | 117 | 10 | 2 | 92 | 96 | .318 | .437 | .602 | 1.039 | 271 | |
| 2014 | 27 | -1.9 | Nexen | KBO | Fgn | 128 | 571 | 459 | 126 | 139 | 16 | 2 | 52 | 124 | 8 | 3 | 96 | 142 | .303 | .433 | .686 | 1.119 | 315 | |
| 2015 | 28 | Nexen | KBO | Fgn | 140 | 622 | 528 | 129 | 181 | 35 | 1 | 53 | 146 | 10 | 3 | 78 | 161 | .343 | .436 | .714 | 1.150 | 377 | ||
| All Levels (9 Seasons) | 868 | 3271 | 2748 | 535 | 773 | 137 | 5 | 210 | 604 | 59 | 22 | 432 | 801 | .281 | .387 | .564 | .951 | 1550 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/8/2015.
Park has been the KBO leader in home runs every season since 2012, and that kind of power is obviously appealing to MLB teams. Travis Sawchik wrote in late October that teams were much more interested in Park after seeing the success his former teammate Jung Ho Kang had with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Kang was the first KBO position player to transition to MLB, and he had a very successful season for the Pirates. The 28-year-old Kang hit .287/.355/.461 to go along with 15 HR and 58 RBI. However, Kang did not only add value to Pittsburgh as a hitter. According to DRS and UZR, Kang was an above average third baseman as well. Unfortunately, his season ended early when he tore his MCL following a Chris Coghlan slide into second base in September.
Park’s offensive numbers compare favorably to Kang’s, and the Twins are likely hoping for similar results. The 6’1 194 lb. first baseman will turn 30 next summer. At first base he won’t add the defensive value that Kang did to the Pirates. However, the Twins were impressed enough with Park’s bat and Kang’s transition from the KBO to offer a posting fee more than double what Pittsburgh spent last season (just over $5 million).
Next: Rockies eye Daniel Murphy at 1B
Steve Spya offers a helpful summary of Park’s swing along with some potential weaknesses.