Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Bucs Eyeing Kang
Friday, December 26, 2014
Few players available this winter posed more of a risk — or offered more of a reward — than Jung-Ho Kang.
The fantasy season is over, but baseball never stops. For all the latest news and notes around the league, keep refreshing Rotoworld’s player news page and also be sure to follow @Rotoworld_BB and @Nate_Grimm on Twitter.
The Korean shortstop crushed the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) this past season, batting .356/.459/.739 with 40 home runs and 117 RBI in 117 games. Seeing an opportunity to profit on Kang’s success, his KBO team, the Nexen Heroes, posted him for MLB teams to bid on this offseason.
The Pirates decided to take a shot on the 27-year-old, paying the Heroes over $5 million for the right to negotiate exclusively with the infielder. It’s unclear which or how many teams they were bidding against, but the Cardinals were at least one club believed to have made a competing offer.
Despite posting big numbers in Korea, there’s some question how his game will translate to the majors. Korean ballplayers, and hitters in particular, historically haven’t made the leap as successfully as international players from other countries and leagues. Also worth noting is the list of Kang’s contemporaries atop the KBO leaderboard this season — guys like Eric Thames, Felix Pie and others who have flamed out with little success in the majors.
Depending on what he costs the club, Kang could end up being a great value or an expensive mistake for the Pirates. One thing working in their favor is the fact that they don’t need to rely on Kang as a starter — Neil Walker is entrenched at second base, and Jordy Mercer has performed decently at shortstop in recent years. If Kang doesn’t pan out, the Bucs likely won’t lose much ground from their current projections.
The Pirates now have a window in which to come to terms with Kang or they’ll receive their posting fee back. If he joins the club for the 2015 season, all eyes will be on him to see if the Bucs made a great deal or a costly error.
Padres Keep Adding
Although it’s nearly a week old, the Justin Upton trade deserves coverage in this space.
Last week’s Daily Dose dealt with the Padres’ moves to become contenders in the NL West, and that was before the deal for the better Upton. The Padres and Braves finalized the trade Friday, with the Friars sending prospects Max Fried, Jace Peterson, Dustin Peterson, Mallex Smith and an international bonus pool slot to Atlanta.
With the trade, the Padres now have a completely different starting outfield than they did a year ago. Along with Upton, the club is slated to start Matt Kemp and Wil Myers in the other two outfield spots. Who plays where is still undetermined — Kemp was previously a center fielder with the Dodgers, and the Royals used Myers in center when he was in their minor league system.
Upton brings another middle-of-the-order bat to San Diego. The outfielder hit .270/.342/.491 with 29 home runs and 102 RBI this past season, and he’s entering a contract year. Even with the impressive additions — Kemp and Myers garnered much of the attention, but the Padres also acquired catcher Derek Norris to bolster the offense — Upton is arguably now the most dangerous hitter on the team.
The Upton move seems to suggest the Padres are in win-now mode, and the fact that Upton’s agent has said his client won’t negotiate a contract extension during the season lends credence to that idea.
“We view it as attractive to get him here for a year and kind of give us a chance to get that direct access that you’re always wondering about from across the field,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller said after acquiring Upton. “We’ll take the year as we go.”
Regardless of whether Upton is in San Diego beyond next season, the Padres will undoubtedly be much improved in 2015.
CarGo On The Mend
From players coming off strong seasons to ones hoping for better results next year, Carlos Gonzalez relayed some good news Wednesday.
The 29-year-old announced he’s been cleared to begin hitting, a big step in his recovery from August surgery to repair the patella tendon in his left knee. The knee had been bothering him since the 2013 season, and it finally ended his year this past August.
The hope is that a healthy — or, as the outfielder goes, healthier, at least — CarGo can overcome the issues he’s faced in recent years. Since the 2013 All-Star break, Gonzalez has batted just .246 with 12 home runs while playing in just 89 games.
There remains concern that CarGo won’t be ready for the start of spring training, but with Wednesday’s news there’s hope he’ll be ready to roll by Opening Day. Unquestionably talented, if Gonzalez can stay healthy for a full season he will likely end up being a value on draft day.
Quick Hits: Another highly successful international player, Kenta Maeda, won’t be joining an MLB team any time soon. The 26-year-old, who has expressed interest in playing in MLB, won’t be posted by his NPB club and recently re-signed with the Hiroshima Carp. When he does get posted, he’ll draw quite a bit of interest from MLB organizations … the Cubs recently acquired Miguel Montero to be their starting catcher, and they signed David Ross to a two-year, $5 million deal to be his backup. Ross had interest from a handful of clubs before signing in Chicago, virtually ensuring Welington Castillo is on his way out … the Braves went ham on Christmas Eve, signing A.J. Pierzynski to a one-year deal. The veteran will back up Christian Bethancourt in Atlanta … one of the new pitchers he’ll be catching is Jason Grilli. The former Pirates closer recently signed a two-year, $8 million deal with a club option for 2017 to serve as a setup man for all-everything closer Craig Kimbrel … one man who formerly held that role, Jordan Walden, signed a two-year extension with the Cardinals. Walden was acquired in the deal that sent Jason Heyward to St. Louis and saw Shelby Miller head to the Braves … the Orioles retained Delmon Young, agreeing to a one-year deal to keep the outfielder in Baltimore. Young batted .302/.337/.442 in a part-time role this past season, a role he’ll likely resume again this year … ending with a bit of bad news, chronically injured Marco Scutaro underwent fusion surgery of the L2 and L3 in his back this past week. The surgery will keep him out for four-to-six months, and it’s not hard to believe the 39-year-old has played his last game.
Few players available this winter posed more of a risk — or offered more of a reward — than Jung-Ho Kang.
The fantasy season is over, but baseball never stops. For all the latest news and notes around the league, keep refreshing Rotoworld’s player news page and also be sure to follow @Rotoworld_BB and @Nate_Grimm on Twitter.
The Korean shortstop crushed the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) this past season, batting .356/.459/.739 with 40 home runs and 117 RBI in 117 games. Seeing an opportunity to profit on Kang’s success, his KBO team, the Nexen Heroes, posted him for MLB teams to bid on this offseason.
The Pirates decided to take a shot on the 27-year-old, paying the Heroes over $5 million for the right to negotiate exclusively with the infielder. It’s unclear which or how many teams they were bidding against, but the Cardinals were at least one club believed to have made a competing offer.
Despite posting big numbers in Korea, there’s some question how his game will translate to the majors. Korean ballplayers, and hitters in particular, historically haven’t made the leap as successfully as international players from other countries and leagues. Also worth noting is the list of Kang’s contemporaries atop the KBO leaderboard this season — guys like Eric Thames, Felix Pie and others who have flamed out with little success in the majors.
Depending on what he costs the club, Kang could end up being a great value or an expensive mistake for the Pirates. One thing working in their favor is the fact that they don’t need to rely on Kang as a starter — Neil Walker is entrenched at second base, and Jordy Mercer has performed decently at shortstop in recent years. If Kang doesn’t pan out, the Bucs likely won’t lose much ground from their current projections.
The Pirates now have a window in which to come to terms with Kang or they’ll receive their posting fee back. If he joins the club for the 2015 season, all eyes will be on him to see if the Bucs made a great deal or a costly error.
Padres Keep Adding
Although it’s nearly a week old, the Justin Upton trade deserves coverage in this space.
Last week’s Daily Dose dealt with the Padres’ moves to become contenders in the NL West, and that was before the deal for the better Upton. The Padres and Braves finalized the trade Friday, with the Friars sending prospects Max Fried, Jace Peterson, Dustin Peterson, Mallex Smith and an international bonus pool slot to Atlanta.
With the trade, the Padres now have a completely different starting outfield than they did a year ago. Along with Upton, the club is slated to start Matt Kemp and Wil Myers in the other two outfield spots. Who plays where is still undetermined — Kemp was previously a center fielder with the Dodgers, and the Royals used Myers in center when he was in their minor league system.
Upton brings another middle-of-the-order bat to San Diego. The outfielder hit .270/.342/.491 with 29 home runs and 102 RBI this past season, and he’s entering a contract year. Even with the impressive additions — Kemp and Myers garnered much of the attention, but the Padres also acquired catcher Derek Norris to bolster the offense — Upton is arguably now the most dangerous hitter on the team.
The Upton move seems to suggest the Padres are in win-now mode, and the fact that Upton’s agent has said his client won’t negotiate a contract extension during the season lends credence to that idea.
“We view it as attractive to get him here for a year and kind of give us a chance to get that direct access that you’re always wondering about from across the field,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller said after acquiring Upton. “We’ll take the year as we go.”
Regardless of whether Upton is in San Diego beyond next season, the Padres will undoubtedly be much improved in 2015.
CarGo On The Mend
From players coming off strong seasons to ones hoping for better results next year, Carlos Gonzalez relayed some good news Wednesday.
The 29-year-old announced he’s been cleared to begin hitting, a big step in his recovery from August surgery to repair the patella tendon in his left knee. The knee had been bothering him since the 2013 season, and it finally ended his year this past August.
The hope is that a healthy — or, as the outfielder goes, healthier, at least — CarGo can overcome the issues he’s faced in recent years. Since the 2013 All-Star break, Gonzalez has batted just .246 with 12 home runs while playing in just 89 games.
There remains concern that CarGo won’t be ready for the start of spring training, but with Wednesday’s news there’s hope he’ll be ready to roll by Opening Day. Unquestionably talented, if Gonzalez can stay healthy for a full season he will likely end up being a value on draft day.
Quick Hits: Another highly successful international player, Kenta Maeda, won’t be joining an MLB team any time soon. The 26-year-old, who has expressed interest in playing in MLB, won’t be posted by his NPB club and recently re-signed with the Hiroshima Carp. When he does get posted, he’ll draw quite a bit of interest from MLB organizations … the Cubs recently acquired Miguel Montero to be their starting catcher, and they signed David Ross to a two-year, $5 million deal to be his backup. Ross had interest from a handful of clubs before signing in Chicago, virtually ensuring Welington Castillo is on his way out … the Braves went ham on Christmas Eve, signing A.J. Pierzynski to a one-year deal. The veteran will back up Christian Bethancourt in Atlanta … one of the new pitchers he’ll be catching is Jason Grilli. The former Pirates closer recently signed a two-year, $8 million deal with a club option for 2017 to serve as a setup man for all-everything closer Craig Kimbrel … one man who formerly held that role, Jordan Walden, signed a two-year extension with the Cardinals. Walden was acquired in the deal that sent Jason Heyward to St. Louis and saw Shelby Miller head to the Braves … the Orioles retained Delmon Young, agreeing to a one-year deal to keep the outfielder in Baltimore. Young batted .302/.337/.442 in a part-time role this past season, a role he’ll likely resume again this year … ending with a bit of bad news, chronically injured Marco Scutaro underwent fusion surgery of the L2 and L3 in his back this past week. The surgery will keep him out for four-to-six months, and it’s not hard to believe the 39-year-old has played his last game.
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