유지호
| 2020-12-29 07:59:50
MLB-S Korean player
S. Korean infielder Kim Ha-seong reportedly signs with San Diego Padres
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean All-Star infielder Kim Ha-seong appears headed to California to launch his major league career.
The 25-year-old slugger has agreed to a deal with the San Diego Padres, the club's official site at MLB.com reported Monday (U.S. local time). Financial terms of the deal were not immediately available.
The news comes four days before the deadline for Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs to acquire the posted player, who has spent the past seven seasons with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
The 30-day negotiating window for Kim opened at 8 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Dec. 2 and is scheduled to close at 5 p.m. ET on New Year's Day. Kim left South Korea on Monday.
If Kim hadn't landed a deal within that period, he would've had to wait until November next year to be posted again.
Kim earned his posting eligibility this year by completing his seventh full KBO season, and it was also his most productive campaign to date.
He batted .306/.397/.523 to set career highs in on-base and slugging percentages, while falling .001 point shy of matching his personal best in batting average.
Kim belted a career-high 30 home runs, and his 109 RBIs and 111 runs scored were the second-highest totals of his career. Kim swiped 23 bags for his second career 20-20 season and set a KBO record by stealing his first 20 bases without getting caught. For the first time in his career, Kim had more walks (75) than strikeouts (68).
A third-round draft pick out of high school in 2014, the athletic infielder with a strong arm also played some third base this year after the Heroes signed former Chicago Cubs All-Star Addison Russell in the summer.
Kim has spent the bulk of his KBO career at shortstop, with some cameo appearances at third base this year. The Padres are well established at both positions, with the perennial All-Star Manny Machado at third and the rising star Fernando Tatis Jr. at shortstop. They finished third and fourth in the National League (NL) MVP voting, respectively, this year.
Instead, the Padres may move second baseman Jake Cronenworth to outfield and make room for Kim. Cronenworth, the runner-up in the NL Rookie of the Year race, appeared at all four infield positions in 2020. He has some experience playing in the outfield in college and appeared in one game in left field in the minors.
Kim is the first South Korean position player to jump from the KBO to MLB via posting since his Kiwoom teammate Park Byung-ho, who signed with the Minnesota Twins in December 2015.
Last year, SK Wyverns' pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun inked a two-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals after getting posted for the second time in his career.
The pitcher couldn't come to an agreement with the Padres when he was posted for the first time in 2014 and now the NL West club has acquired another Korean star.
The Heroes will receive a fee from the Padres depending on the guaranteed amount of Kim Ha-seong's contract.
If the guaranteed value of the deal is US$25 million or less, then the fee will be 20 percent of the contract. And if the contract is worth between $25,000,001 and $50 million, the fee will be 20 percent of the first $25 million, plus 17.5 percent of any amount exceeding that $25 million.
If Kim signs for more than $50 million, the Heroes will receive $9,375,000 and then 15 percent of the amount exceeding $50 million.
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