San Francisco Giants Expected to Heavily Pursue South Korean Slugger
South Korean baseball star Jung Hoo Lee is expected to be posted in the coming weeks and reports indicate that the San Francisco Giants will be among the most aggressive pursuers in free agency.
Reports indicate that the Yankees will be aggressive as well.
Per Jon Morosi of MLB.com:
@jonmorosi says the Giants and Yankees are among teams expected to show interest in KBO star Jung-Hoo Lee pending his posting to MLB.
MLBTradeRumors wrote a good profile of Lee, which you can read here:
Lee, 25, is a left-handed hitting center fielder. A hit-over-power offensive player, Lee posted an OPS north of .900 in each season between 2020-22. He won the KBO MVP award with a .349/.421/.575 showing in ’22 but had a disappointing platform year. Lee’s power production plummeted; he hit only six home runs while slugging .455 over 86 games and 387 trips to the plate. His season ended in July when a left ankle injury required surgery. That came with an estimated three month rehab process, so it’s not expected to affect his availability for Spring Training.
It makes sense why the Giants would want to look at Lee on the market. A contact-type player would fit well in their spacious ballpark. While it's tough to project how Lee will look coming off an injury, he should be immensely more affordable than former MVP Cody Bellinger, who is also available on the market.
Once he's posted, other teams figure to be in the mix as well. Perhaps the Los Angeles Angels could get involved, especially if they are to lose Shohei Ohtani's bat from their lineup. If the Cubs lose Bellinger, they could be interested also.
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