Sung-Bum Na drawing MLB interest

Sung-Bum Na attempted to come to the majors last offseason. His dream may come true this year.

While there have not been any reports of Na being posted by the NC Dinos this offseason, it may just be a matter of time. According to Jee-Ho Yoo of Yonhap News Agency, at least one major league team has expressed interest in Na, leading to Major League Baseball placing a formal status check on the outfielder.

Sung-Bum Na may get second chance at major league dream

Na’s timing was not great last offseason. He had a knee injury that required surgery in 2019, and while he performed well with the bat in 2020, there were concerns about his ability to play in the outfield. He appeared in 130 games that year, with only 50 of those appearances coming in right field. He was unable to get a contract, possibly due to those concerns regarding his health going forward.

Those concerns were put to rest last season. Although he did not produce at the same level that he did in 2020, Na’s .281/.337/.506 batting line with 32 homers and 29 doubles in 618 plate appearances were certainly respectable. He also made 130 of his 143 appearances in the outfield, showing that his knee is healthy.

That does not mean that Na is without question marks. His arm may be his best tool, but he is essentially limited to right field or a designated hitter spot. He can already be enticed to chance in the KBO, making one wonder how he would handle major league breaking pitches. Na also has not seen the type of velocity that is common in the majors, leaving one to wonder if he could handle the high octane fastballs that he would regularly see.

Nonetheless, Na does intrigue. He does possess a great deal of power when he makes contact, and while he does not run as well as he used to, he could be viewed as a potential middle of the order bat. However, those expectations may need to be tempered.

Na would also be facing other potential roadblocks. With uncertainty around the CBA and those negotiations, teams may not be willing to spend right off the bat. Add in what is a solid free agent crop of corner outfielders, and he may not get the type of contract he would be looking for. Na may well find himself without a deal once again.

At least one major league team is showing interest in Sung-Bum Na. However, it is fair to wonder how well he will do at the major league level.