Interest in outfielder Lee Jeong-hoo is hot in the United States.
On the 24th (hereinafter Korean time), the American media ‘New York Post’ reported on the outfield reinforcement of the New York Yankees
a member of the American League East Division of the Major League Baseball (MLB)
and mentioned the names of high-level outfielders such as Cody Bellinger and Juan Soto. mentioned.
The New York Post reported that Lee Jeong-hoo is also one of the candidates.
The media emphasized that the competition to recruit Lee Jung-hoo is fierce, saying
The Yankees also inquired about Korean center fielder Lee Jung-hoo
who is only 25 years old, and there are as many as 20 teams chasing him.”
The Yankees, along with San Francisco, which showed interest in Lee Jung-hoo early on
are being discussed as the most likely destination.
While many teams are looking to recruit outfielders in the free agent market
the Yankees are considered one of them.
In particular, Lee Jeong-hoo could be an attractive card as the team wants a center fielder with both offensive and defensive abilities.
Lee Jeong-hoo’s name has been mentioned every day in the United States since the end of the KBO League and Major League postseasons, and as of now
it appears that postings will begin after Thanksgiving in the United States (November 24-27).
The battle between clubs is expected to become more intense.
he Korea Baseball Organization (KBO)
which received a request from the Major League Secretariat on the 14th to check the status of Go Woo-seok (LG) and Lee Jeong-hoo
notified the following day that the players in question belonged to the LG Twins and Kiwoom Heroes, respectively.
Kiwoom Club submitted Lee Jeong-hoo’s medical records required for the MLB posting system (private competitive bidding) to the KBO Secretariat on the 22nd.
The data contains information about the treatment Lee Jung-hoo received after his professional debut
and will be disclosed to 30 big league clubs.
It also included the signatures of doctors and trainers.
The KBO Secretariat plans to re-check whether the necessary materials for posting are properly prepared in accordance with the Korea-US Player Contract Agreement and then send them to the MLB Secretariat.
That’s how high the clubs’ expectations are for Lee Jeong-hoo. Recently, MLB.com (MLB.com)
the official website of Major League Baseball
introduced 10 hitters who entered the free agent market this winter, and focused on Lee Jung-hoo, saying
He is attractive and has a variety of skills.”
In addition, MLB.com, which included Lee Jeong-hoo’s name in the ‘9 most attractive free agent players this winter’ earlier this month, said
It is not always easy to predict how a player who played in the KBO league will adapt to the major league stage.
In the case of Lee Jeong-hoo this year, “He only played 86 games due to an ankle injury in July
but he will be able to return when he debuts in the major leagues,” he said, looking at Lee Jeong-hoo’s challenge positively.
He continued, “Lee Jeong-hoo, a contact type hitter, recorded a KBO career batting average of 0.340
on-base percentage of 0.407, and slugging percentage of 0.491.
He graduated from high school and debuted on the professional stage at the age of 18, which is 11.2 years younger than the average age of players in the KBO league,” Kiwoom said.
The Heroes club allowed Lee Jeong-hoo to challenge for the big league last January.
Considering his age and talent, there is a high possibility that he will sign a large contract
but it will be decided based on the expectations of MLB clubs,” he added.
On the 15th, ‘ESPN’, an American sports media outlet that ranks major league major free agent players
selected Lee Jung-hoo as one of the top 12 free agent fielders. 카지노사이트
The media said, “Lee Jung-hoo is the most talented Korean fielder since Choo Shin-soo.
He is only 25 years old, and has a batting average of over .300 every year in the KBO League, and rarely strikes out.
Even with an ankle injury, he is a player who can play good outfield defense.” .
Lee Jung-hoo, who received attention for his outstanding potential since his rookie days, has shown outstanding performance since 2017, his first year of debut.
He had a batting average of over .300 every year until this year, and last year he even showed off his slugging ability by hitting 20 home runs for the first time in his debut.
Lee Jeong-hoo’s presence also shined at international competitions. He participated in all international competitions, starting with the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) in 2017 and ending with the World Baseball Classic (WBC) last March. In this way, Lee Jeong-hoo was no longer the ‘son of coach Lee Jong-beom (LG)’ or the ‘grandson of the wind,’ but was able to be reborn as the ‘first Lee Jeong-hoo.’
Lee Jeong-hoo, who completed verification in the KBO League, expressed his intention to challenge the major league through the posting system after the end of the 2023 season to the Kiwoom club in December last year, and after internal discussions, Kiwoom respected the player’s will and will in early January of this year. We agreed to support. He also established a policy to help and support where he can at the club level.
Lee Jung-hoo suffered an injury during the season and was absent for over two months, unable to play many games. However, even during his absence due to injury, several major league clubs kept a close eye on Lee Jung-hoo, and his challenge to the big leagues gradually became closer to reality. Last month, San Francisco general manager Pete Putilla personally visited Gocheok Sky Dome and examined Lee Jeong-hoo.
Lee Jeong-hoo’s agent, Scott Boras, said, “Nearly half of the league’s clubs have inquired about Lee Jeong-hoo. The reason the Boston Red Sox recruited Masataka Yoshida (who played in Japan) was because they knew his hitting skills were very good. Lee Jeong-hoo also has good defense. He expressed his expectations, saying, “He is a player with both power and power, and has an advantage as a center fielder in particular. I think Lee Jung-hoo will create a K-pop craze in MLB.”