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The San Francisco Giants have struck out a lot lately when it comes to free-agent pursuits. Last year, the club whiffed on Aaron Judge and encountered complications with Carlos Correa. Then, most recently, it failed to woo Shohei Ohtani. Things finally changed this week, though, with reports it landed South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee.
The 25-year-old Lee built an incredible resume for himself during seven seasons in South Korea’s KBO League. He’s seen as an excellent contact hitter and a standout defensive player who should make an immediate impact for the Giants.
Here’s a closer look at the deal and what it means.
The deal: Lee and the Giants agreed to a six-year, $113-million contract, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
The runners up: The San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays had all been linked to Lee in recent days and must now look elsewhere for an impact outfielder.
The player: As mentioned, bat-to-ball skills are Lee’s primary selling point. His career batting line in the KBO is an impressive .340/.407/.491 over 884 games. In addition to that, the left-handed hitter possesses impressive discipline, walking more times than he’s struck out (383 to 304 over seven seasons).
Power had been lacking in his game, but Lee changed that during his MVP campaign in 2022 when he cranked 23 homers. Last season, that number fell to just six as Lee’s season was cut short to 86 games by a fractured ankle.
He’s garnered comparisons to Masataka Yoshida, the Japanese outfielder who signed with the Boston Red Sox ahead of last season. Yoshida’s profile similarly favoured contact over power and that translated well in his first MLB season. The Giants certainly hope that is the case here.
The fit: San Francisco won 107 games in 2021 but regressed in each of the next two seasons, winning 81 games and then just 79 this year. That’s led to questions about the job security of Farhan Zaidi, the club’s president of baseball operations.
The organization needed to land somebody and once it lost out on the Ohtani sweepstakes to the NL West-rival Los Angeles Dodgers, Zaidi and Co. moved quickly to work out a deal with Lee and his agent, Scott Boras. (It’s worth noting that in addition to the money owed to Lee, the Giants are on the hook for a $19-million posting fee to the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes, Lee’s former team.)
Lee figures to slot in as the everyday centerfielder for the Giants, filling a role that has not been stable for the club. Last season 11 different players occupied the position, with Luis Matos (57) and Mike Yastrzemski (51) leading the way. Lee is a five-time Gold Glove winner in the KBO and looks to be the best outfield defender on San Francisco’s roster.
While there are always concerns about a player making a transition to MLB from overseas — consider the lower velocity of the KBO, for example — there are several reasons to believe he could be successful.
Consider this quote, courtesy of Jeeho Yoo, a sportswriter for Yonhap News who told MLB.com that Lee “doesn’t really have a lot of weaknesses as a hitter.
“They say he’s a bad ball hitter, too. You can find some clips on Twitter going around where he does these Vlad Guerrero Sr. impressions. Like, the ball bounces in front of the plate and he somehow makes contact and hits a double.”
The market: MLB Trade Rumors predicted Lee would fetch a contract worth five years and $50 million. He obviously destroyed that.
The next domino: Fellow left-handed hitting centre-fielder Cody Bellinger feels like the next domino to fall. He remains the best position player on the market.
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