The San Francisco Giants general manager crossed the Pacific Ocean and visited Gocheok Sky Dome in person. Will Lee Jeong-hoo (25) be able to start his big league career at Oracle Park next season?
On the 26th (Korean time), MLB.com, the official Major League Baseball website, reported the news of San Francisco President Farhan Zaidi’s three-year extension contract and highly anticipated the signing of Lee Jung-hoo. Lee Jeong-hoo’s name was included in the list of FA recruitment candidates and the modifier “high-quality talent” was added.
MLB.com said, “San Francisco announced a new contract for the head of baseball operations on the same day that manager Bob Melvin was appointed.” “San Francisco owner Greg Johnson agreed to a three-year extension with Zaidi, whose contract is set to expire at the end of next season. . Zaidi will stay in San Francisco together with Melvin and lead the club until 2026,” the report said.
San Francisco won 107 wins, the most by a team, in 2021 under President Zaidi, but was unable to avoid sluggishness for two consecutive seasons. After losing to the LA Dodgers, who advanced through the wild card series in the 2021 National League Division Series, they finished 3rd in the West Division in 2022 (81 wins, 81 losses) and 4th place this year (79 wins, 83 losses), failing to enter the fall stage for two consecutive years. . Nevertheless, Zaidi’s leadership gained public support and achieved an extension of the contract.
“I am delighted to receive this support again,” said Zaidi. “I want to be able to move our organization forward. A big offseason is now upon us, and just as we expected to make the playoffs last year, there will be one next year as well. “Now, we will address the challenges facing Coach Melvin and the organization in order to stabilize them,” he said of the contract extension.
We could get a glimpse of San Francisco’s determination to strengthen its power through the words ‘big offseason’ mentioned by President Zaidi. MLB.com said, “San Francisco, which has 79 wins and 83 losses this year, must significantly upgrade its roster to compete in the National League West Division. The Western Division has two major teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, and the Arizona Diamondbacks have quickly emerged as a new powerhouse. “We need to significantly strengthen our depth to be competitive,” he emphasized.
The player mentioned was Lee Jeong-hoo, who declared his bid for the major league. MLB.com said, “San Francisco failed to recruit Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa last offseason, but is expected to recruit high-quality talent from the free agent market again this year,” adding, “Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell, “Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jeong-hoo Lee are potential recruitment candidates,” he explained.
Lee Jeong-hoo, who played in the KBO League for seven seasons, will challenge the Major League through the posting system in the upcoming Stove League.
Jeong-hoo Lee, who was selected in the first round by Nexen in 2017, recorded a batting average of .304, 65 home runs, 515 RBIs, 69 stolen bases, and 581 runs in 884 games in the KBO League. Last season, in 142 games, he had a batting average of .349, 193 hits, 23 home runs, 113 RBI, and an OPS of .996, winning five batting awards (batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, RBI, and most hits) and the regular season MVP. In addition, he has proven his competitiveness in various international competitions, including APBC in 2017, Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games in 2018, Premier 12 in 2019, and WBC in 2021 and 2023.
This year, due to injuries, his batting average was only .311, 6 home runs, and 45 RBIs in 86 games. However, multiple major league clubs that have already confirmed Lee Jung-hoo’s skills are showing interest in recruiting him.
The most representative club is San Francisco, a member of the Western Division, and on the 10th, general manager Pete Putilla crossed the Pacific Ocean to visit Gocheok Sky Dome, Kiwoom’s home stadium, and showed his sincerity by watching Lee Jeong-hoo’s game.스포츠토토
It remains to be seen whether San Francisco’s interest in Lee Jung-hoo will lead to an actual transfer rather than just a transfer rumor.
0 Comments