‘Estimated KRW 65.5-73.3 billion’ Lee Jeong-hoo, jackpot contract expected!
“San Francisco signed Lee Jung-hoo to the fourth largest contract among fielders.”
Jim Bowden, who previously served as general manager of the Washington Nationals and is currently a columnist at The Athletic, made predictions for the 2023-2024 offseason on the 7th (Korean time). During this process, he predicted that Lee Jung-hoo would sign a contract with the San Francisco Giants.
With the World Series (WS) schedule complete, the Major League will soon enter the Stove League. In other words, the time is approaching when players who have qualified as free agents (FA) are evaluated by clubs in the market. This year, there are several players who will move their activities from Asia to the United States. Among them, the one who is receiving the most attention from domestic fans is Lee Jeong-hoo.
Lee Jeong-hoo played in 142 games last year, recording 193 hits, 23 home runs, 113 RBIs, 85 runs, and a batting average of 0.349 and OPS 0.996. He earned his first MVP title and won 5 batting awards (batting average, most hits, RBI, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage), setting a 'career high'. Went through the season. And after this season, he announced his intention to advance to the major leagues through the 'posting system'. He is now fully prepared to challenge the major leagues by joining hands with Scott Boras, known as the ‘Devil’s Agent.’
Lee Jeong-hoo was unable to play the full season this year due to ankle surgery. However, he appeared in 86 games and left with 105 hits, 6 home runs, 45 RBIs, 50 runs, a batting average of 0.318, and an OPS of 0.861, and is receiving keen interest from major league clubs. The New York Yankees have been consistently classified as a club with a high possibility of recruiting Lee Jung-hoo since the news of his entry into the Major League was announced.
The San Diego Padres, who have Kim Ha-seong, an Asian infielder and the first Korean to win a 'Gold Glove' in the National League utility category, are also considered candidates for Lee Jung-hoo's recruitment. This is because Kim Ha-seong has sufficiently proven that Asian fielders can also work. In addition, the San Francisco Giants, Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cleveland Guardians are expected to participate in the recruitment of Lee Jung-hoo.
There is always talk that there are no 'special' players in this year's major league free agent market, but the current evaluation of Lee Jung-hoo is not bad. This can be seen just by looking at the FA rankings selected by local American media. Jim Bowden, a former major league general manager, ranked Jeong-hoo Lee 37th, but 'CBS Sports' ranked him 15th, 'FOX Sports' ranked him 4th, and 'Major League Trade Rumors (MLBTR)' ranked him 15th. Ranked.
Currently, the estimated ransom of Lee Jeong-hoo is quite high. Jim Britton of 'The Athletic' predicted that Lee Jung-hoo would be able to receive $56 million (about 73.3 billion won) over four years, and in the case of 'MLBTR', he predicted $50 million (about 65.5 billion won) over five years. Ha-seong Kim signed a 4+1 year contract with San Diego prior to the 2021 season worth up to $39 million (approximately KRW 51 billion), and if the guaranteed amount is only $28 million (approximately KRW 36.6 billion), he is expected to earn up to twice that amount. It is expected.
In the midst of this, Bowden took the time to predict this year’s Stove League. And in this process, Lee Jeong-hoo's name was mentioned. Bowden said, “San Francisco signed Jeong-hoo Lee to the largest contract among free agents among fielders excluding Ohtani, Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman.” It was predicted that Lee Jung-hoo would wear the San Francisco uniform, which is showing the most active interest in him.
San Francisco showed great interest in Lee Jung-hoo, to the extent that general manager Pete Putilla personally visited Korea and visited Gocheok Sky Dome to closely observe Lee Jung-hoo's training process, even though Lee Jung-hoo was not playing in the game due to an injury. In particular, San Francisco is showing its stance that it will definitely strengthen its strength this year after failing to recruit Carlos Correa (Minnesota) and Aaron Judge (Yankees) last year.
If the general manager visited Korea to see Lee Jeong-hoo, President Farhan Zaidi personally went to Japan to observe Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix Buffaloes), the 'ace' representing Japanese professional baseball who is receiving the most attention except for Otani. did. San Francisco, which is serious about strengthening its power, is not only targeting Lee Jeong-hoo and Yamamoto at the same time, but is also showing infinite interest in 'biggest fish' Ohtani.
Even if he served as general manager in Washington in the past, not all predictions come true. However, from the perspective of a former general manager, Lee Jeong-hoo will not only wear the San Francisco uniform, but will also be able to receive the fourth largest contract among fielders after Ohtani, Bellinger, and Chapman, who succeeded in rebounding. Can this outlook be true? As time passes, interest in Lee Jeong-hoo's expected destination is growing. https://www.totositeweb.top/