The Korea Baseball Group introduced final night time that MLB has tendered standing checks on two gamers: second baseman Hyeseong Kim and first baseman/catcher Baek-Ho Kang (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.internet). That signifies each gamers are on the radar of not less than one MLB crew, although solely Kim appears prone to make the bounce this offseason.
A standing verify is the method used when an MLB crew exhibits curiosity in a Korean participant. MLB doesn’t reveal the id of the crew or groups that requested the verify. It’s not an official opening of the posting course of, which begins a 30-day window for a KBO participant to barter with large league golf equipment.
The standing verify doesn’t imply {that a} participant goes to return to MLB, although it’s a obligatory first step for any participant who finally does so. Final offseason, standing checks presaged postings and MLB offers for Jung Hoo Lee and Woo-Suk Go. MLB additionally performed a standing verify on free agent reliever Deok Ju Ham, however he elected to re-sign along with his KBO crew a number of weeks later.
Concerning Kim, the standing verify is a formality. The lefty-hitting infielder (to not be confused with MLB free agent Ha-Seong Kim) has ready for a transfer to MLB since final winter. Kim has performed components of eight KBO seasons with the Nexen/Kiwoom Heroes. The Heroes introduced in January that they might make him out there to main league golf equipment in the course of the 2024-25 offseason through the posting system. Kim employed CAA as his illustration in June.
The 25-year-old hit .326/.383/.458 throughout 567 plate appearances this 12 months. He’s a profession .304/.364/.403 hitter. KBO pitching is way weaker than it’s on the main league degree. Scouting studies typically recommend Kim profiles as a utility participant. MLB groups enamored along with his glove may view him as a low-end common at second base. He doesn’t have a ton of energy upside, as this 12 months’s 11 house runs signify a profession excessive. Kim will very doubtless be posted later within the offseason. Final 12 months, the Heroes waited till early December to publish Lee. The LG Twins did the identical with Go.
Kang, who performs for the KT Wiz, is reportedly not curious about pursuing an MLB alternative at the moment. Kurtz factors to a Korean-language report from Sports activities Kyunghang by which crew officers say that they confirmed with Kang that he intends to stay with the Wiz regardless of the standing verify. (The standing verify is barely a sign that an MLB crew is within the participant, not the opposite method round.) Kang hit 26 house runs with a .289/.360/.480 batting line this season. FanGraphs wrote final offseason that Kang had plus energy however projected as a primary baseman with questions on his pure hitting capability as an MLB prospect.