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Major League Baseball teams will soon be on the clock for Korean shortstop Jung-Ho Kang.
Kang is expected to be posted Monday at 2 p.m. Pacific Time, according to an NJ.com report, giving all 30 MLB teams a chance to bid for his services in what is essentially a four-day silent auction.
The 27-year-old is coming off an MVP season for the Nexen Heroes in which he hit .354 with 39 home runs and 115 RBI in the KBO.
The Giants, A's and Mets have all been linked to Kang, who has defensive versatility as he's reportedly able to play second base, third base and center field, in addition to shortstop.
The Giants have an infield hole to fill after Pablo Sandoval elected to join the Boston Red Sox. The A's have an infield hole to fill with Jed Lowrie joining the Astros, and could use an upgrade at second base.
Teams will be able to bid on Kang until Friday evening; whichever team bids the highest will have a 30-day window to negotiate a contract.
"If he was Cuban, he'd get $100 million," Kang's agent Alan Nero recently said, according to a CBS Sports report.
Former Giants starting pitcher Ryan Sadowski has been playing professional baseball in Korea since 2010, and he provided the following scouting report:
For the past three seasons, Kang has been an MVP candidate in the KBO. In my first season in the KBO (2010), I can remember being extremely impressed with Kang’s raw tools, which included a good arm, a Gary Sheffield like swing, and pants that looked like they were spray painted on.
I have now watched Kang regularly for the past five seasons. I believe that Major League scouts see that Kang has the raw power necessary despite the fact that there has been an offensive explosion throughout the KBO in 2014. These days in Major League baseball, teams are paying big for power, and Kang’s power will likely translate to home runs in most big league stadiums. Kang has a thick lower half which may have scouts believing that his ability to play shortstop may be limited in the long run. Currently, Kang fields balls too deep and close to his body, which many scouts believe is a teachable correction. If Kang learns how to attack balls and field them with better technique, many of the teams that don’t think Kang can stay at SS will see him as a long term option at 3B. Even if Kang is too thick to play SS and doesn’t develop the glove to play 3B, he still clearly has the defensive tools to be a Major League corner outfielder.
Due to Kang’s raw tools and the past history of the posting system for everyday Major League players coming from Asia, I expect Kang’s posting fee to be in the $6-9 million range.
Korean SS Jung-Ho Kang will be posted on Monday, according to his agent, Alan Nero.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 13, 2014
Jung-ho Kang will be posted today at 5pm. Mets are interested but haven't decided whether to pursue the Korean SS yet http://t.co/jR2OOVtBaU
— Mike Vorkunov (@Mike_Vorkunov) December 15, 2014