With Juan Soto’s trade imminent, the atmosphere has changed dramatically.
It seems like an unexpected team has popped up.
Ha-seong Kim’s team is the San Diego Padres of the Major League Baseball (MLB).
After reporting on December 7 (Korean time) that San Diego starting outfielders Juan Soto and Trent Grisham would be transferred to the New York Yankees 바카라사이트닷컴
American MLB Network reporter John Heyman said on social media
“There is talk about Korean center fielder Lee Jung-hoo.
He said, “San Diego could be a strong destination for Lee Jung-hoo.”
At the same time, “Lee Jung-hoo’s salary in 2024 is expected to be lower than that of Soto, and as a player with solid defense
he is expected to show off his good contact ability in the major league.
“It will be interesting to see what he will show at the MLB level,” he added.
It has been predicted for a long time that San Diego would pursue the recruitment of Lee Jeong-hoo.
The story was that AJ Preller San Diego General Manager, who led the recruitment of Ha-Seong Kim, was keeping an eye on Jeong-Hoo Lee to rewrite the success story of recruiting players from the KBO League.
However, what made it difficult to make such predictions was because of San Diego’s team composition.
San Diego also had Soto, Grisham, and Fernando Tatis Jr., who converted from the infield to the outfield.
But the situation changed suddenly. It is reported that San Diego is pursuing a large trade that would involve giving Soto and Grisham to the Yankees and acquiring four pitchers and a catcher.
MLB.com said, “Only minor procedures such as health examination remain.”
Therefore, it is only natural that San Diego, which has already had a lot of fun with Kim Ha-seong, is interested in Lee Jeong-hoo.
Reporter John Heyman said, “There are rumors that the Padres will trade Juan Soto to secure payroll flexibility.
Freeing up the money that was supposed to go to Soto would help round out the team’s roster. “
The pitchers the Padres would acquire in a potential trade with the Yankees would strengthen the team’s pitching staff in both the rotation and bullpen while also potentially adding a catcher,” he added.
However, it remains to be seen whether the final trip to San Diego will take place.
This is because there is a huge wall called the San Francisco Giants.
The San Francisco Giants declared that they are all in on this free agent market.
They also approached Shohei Otani, but it seems they are currently focusing more on Yoshinomu Yamamoto, Imanaga, and Jeonghu Lee.
San Francisco general manager Pete Purteller visited Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul last October and saw Lee Jeong-hoo in action.
San Francisco coach Bob Melvin, who used Kim Ha-seong in San Diego until the 2023 season
recently mentioned Lee Jeong-hoo’s name at the Winter Meetings and said that a new outfielder is needed.
Given the current atmosphere, San Diego and San Francisco are expected to engage in a fierce recruitment battle.
It’s not bad news for Lee Jeong-hoo. In any case, if there is competition, the price is bound to rise.
Initially, Lee Jeong-hoo’s ransom was around $50 million, but now it has surpassed $60 million, and there is talk of him being worth $70 million.
Lee Jung-hoo can freely negotiate with 30 MLB teams until 7 a.m. on January 4th next year, Korean time.