The Pittsburgh Pirates have won the bidding for Korean infielder Jeong-ho Kang, and it has been reported that Kang’s former team will accept the bid. The amount of the bid was $5,002,015. The Pirates have exclusive negotiating rights for 30 days, if a deal isn’t reached, the Nexen Heroes will return $5 million back to the Pirates.
Kang, 28, hit 40 home runs last season in the Korean Baseball League. In nine seasons he has a batting average of .298, 139 home runs, and 545 RBI in 902 career games.
The biggest question that goes along with this story is if his power will translate to the American game. There were some concerns from other clubs, that stayed away from the bidding, that were unsure if he is a major league short stop or second baseman due to his range.
It is possible that if a contract is worked out with Kang, he could fill in at the short stop position and replace Jordy Mercer who manned that spot last season.
John Ginder
John has recently graduated from the University at Albany with a B.A. in History and is currently finishing his Master's Degree there as well in secondary education. After being away from school for over two decades he decided to go back and work towards his dream of becoming a social studies teacher.
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