Lee Jung-hoo will move to the Major League after signing a bigger-than-expected contract. He agreed to buy 113 million U.S. dollars for six years with the San Francisco Giants. This is a new Asian batter record surpassing Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox). He even secured favorable conditions to become an FA again four years later by opting out.
Reporter John Hayman tweeted on the morning of the 13th (Korea time) that Lee Jung-hoo had agreed with San Francisco. The amount is amazing. The annual salary for the season has not been announced yet, but the total amount exceeds 100 million U.S. dollars to 113 million dollars and the contract period is six years. This is equivalent to the new Asian batter record that exceeded 90 million dollars for five years when Yoshida moved to Boston last year. Moreover, he can become a free agent by opting out four years later. 메이저 토토사이트
Reporter Hayman is famous for delivering the news of Scott Boras, his agent, quickly. Lee Jung-hoo’s news was also delivered quickly. It can be said that the reliability is also high.
As Juan Soto of the New York Yankees traded for the San Diego Padres, Lee Jung-hoo was considered a necessary player for the San Diego Padres. San Diego gave up key center fielder Trent Grisham along with Soto during the trade with the Yankees.
MLB.com said in a stove league prospect article shortly after Soto’s trade, “Korean star Lee Jung-hoo is said to be at the top of the list of San Diego’s wish list for recruitment. The deal could be concluded sooner because Soto’s salary was excluded from the ledger,” predicting that San Diego will recruit Lee Jung-hoo.
However, San Francisco also faced the stove league with the goal of recruiting outfielders, and has shown serious interest in Lee Jung-hoo to the extent that general manager Pete Putilla visited Gocheok Dome during the season and watched the game in person. Eventually, Lee Jung-hoo and agent Scott Boras won the hearts of Lee Jung-hoo and his agent Scott Boras by signing a large contract worth more than 100 million dollars.
Lee has been in the spotlight as a major free agent in the U.S. media. Last year, Lee topped the list of batting average (0.349), on-base percentage (0.421), slugging percentage (0.575), hits (193), and RBIs (113), winning five titles. He also became MVP based on his stellar performance. Based on his stellar performance, Lee declared his bid to play in the U.S., and sought to join the big league through posting system.
“While playing in the KBO, the 25-year-old outfielder posted a batting average of 0.340 on-base plus 0.407 and a slugging percentage of 0.491. He has a batting average of at least 0.318. He is considered to have above-average defensive ability in center field positions, and has potential to stand out as a corner outfielder in the Major League,” MLB.com said on Wednesday.
“Lee Jung-hoo played in the World Baseball Classic ahead of the 2023 KBO season and impressed with a batting average of 0.429 and an on-base percentage of 0.571 with two doubles and five RBIs,” he said.
On the condition that he can become an FA again four years later, opt-out is also what Kim Ha-sung (San Diego Padres) advised Lee Jung-hoo that it is essential. “I also talked to Jung-hoo, but the right to veto the minor league doesn’t seem to mean much to me,” Kim said at a press conference last month. “I didn’t play in the minor league even though I didn’t play in the first year. It is not easy for a player with a high salary to get off the minor league unless he hits the bottom.”
“When I moved to the Major League, there were seniors who were in the Minor League. That’s why I thought it would be a big deal if I moved to the Minor League. That’s why I was obsessed with the right to reject the Minor League. I don’t think Lee Jung-hoo will get paid a small amount of money either. I don’t think there is any reason to cling to the right to reject the Minor League. Rather, I think it would be better to opt out (a condition to obtain FA rights in the middle of a contract period).”
Lee has become a big hitter who does not need to veto a minor league due to a large contract, and even secured an opt-out. This confirms San Francisco’s sincerity toward Lee. According to a Boras Corporation source, Lee will keep his number 51 in San Francisco as well.