Texas Rangers Officially Announce Contract with 'Korean Shohei Ohtani'

Seong-Jun Kim, who is supposed to be the Shohei Ohtani of Korea, is now in the United States. The two-way standout plays both shortstop and pitcher.

A hat and glove of a Texas Rangers player during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in 2024. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

May 18: The deal is now official, with the Rangers announcing the move on social media. It's unknown where Kim will start his professional career at this time. Please note that the Rangers are using a different spelling and name order than original reports suggested.

텍사스 레인저스에 오신 것을 환영합니다!

We've officially agreed to terms with International Free Agent SS/RHP Seong-Jun Kim. pic.twitter.com/bPmyGWZMPr

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) May 18, 2025

May 8: According to multiple reports, 18-year-old Kim Sung-joon is signing a deal with the Texas Rangers. Francys Romero reports that he'll receive a $1.3 million signing bonus. He's been called the "Korean Ohtani" because of his ability to play on both sides of the ball.

Two-way player Kim Sung-joon, considered the “Korean Ohtani,” is in an agreement with the Texas Rangers, sources confirm. The deal is pending a physical.

Sung-joon, 18, will receive an estimated signing bonus of $1.3M. pic.twitter.com/L4w3iVBUze

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) May 8, 2025

According to the account "KBO in English," he will skip the KBO draft and will start his career in the United States rather than in his homeland.

🚨BREAKING

The “Korean Ohtani” Kim Sung-joon has an agreement with the Texas Rangers for a deal to guarantee him to develop as a two-way player, with the deal also expecting to exceed 1M USD from the Rangers IFA signing bonus pool

Kim Sung-joon will skip the KBO draft.#김성준… pic.twitter.com/H1S6MT79mN

— KBO in English (@KBO_ENG) May 8, 2025

This is an exciting day for the Rangers, who clearly are getting an intriguing prospect, and it's also an interesting day for Korean baseball. If more players opt to go this route, it could hamper the KBO's quality, as he won't ever step foot in the domestic league if his career pans out.

There have been several solid Korean players to play in the big leagues, including Shin Soo-Choo, Chan Ho-Park, Jiman Choi and Dae-Ho Lee. Hyun-Jin Ryu was an All-Star, as is Ha-seong Kim. Hyeseong Kim just signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers this past winter and is already making an impact on Dave Roberts's roster.

Once the physical passes, it's unclear where Kim will begin his professional career, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him start in the Arizona Complex League before going to a full season affiliate.

At the big-league level, the Rangers are 18-20 after a 5-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday afternoon. They are in fourth place in the American League West and will start a weekend series on Friday night with the Detroit Tigers.

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