‘Yankees should recruit Lee Jeong-hoo.’
Another claim was made that Lee Jung-hoo, who plans to enter the major leagues at the end of this year, should be embraced by the New York Yankees.
Local fan media Fansided was the first to mention Lee Jung-hoo in an article titled ‘Free agents the Yankees could sign to challenge for next year’s World Series title’ on the 18th (Korean time).
The media said, ‘Lee Jung-hoo is not the outfielder that attracts the most attention in the major league free agent market, but he will undoubtedly double the Yankees’ offensive power.’ He played 7 full-time seasons after joining the pros and has a batting average of 0.349, 23 home runs, and 113 RBI in 2022. , He made a great performance, including winning his 5th Golden Glove, and was selected as MVP.’
Lee Jeong-hoo suffered an ankle injury last July and took a hiatus for over three months, but returned at the end of the season, showing that his health had recovered.
The media added, ‘Although it is not as good as last year, he posted a batting average of 0.318, 6 home runs, 23 doubles, and 45 RBI in 86 games this year, with an OPS of 0.861. He previously participated in the WBC Korean national team in March and recorded a batting average of 0.429.’
If Lee Jung-hoo wears a Yankees uniform, his most likely position will be center fielder or left fielder. Fansideid said, ‘Aaron Judge has decided to return to right field next year. He said, “Lee Jung-hoo can easily occupy center field or left field,” adding, “Moreover, he is relatively cheaper than other free agent outfielders sought by owner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman.”
Currently, the Yankees outfield has only one starting pitcher, Judge. Oswaldo Cabrera, Everson Ferreira, Jake Bowers, and Billy McKinney are candidates, but they need to be further verified in terms of accuracy and power. Giancarlo Stanton is a designated hitter rather than an outfielder.
Regarding the Yankees and Lee Jung-hoo, The Athletic said on the 11th, ‘The Yankees will definitely monitor Lee Jung-hoo’s marketability. They said, “They have been observing Lee Jeong-hoo consistently this season.”
When it comes to Lee Jung-hoo, the team that is mentioned as much as the Yankees is the San Francisco Giants.
On this day, the McCovey Chronicle, a local media outlet, claimed, “Considering that Lee Jeong-hoo is unfamiliar to American fans and is better known for his defense than his offense, it is difficult to view him as a big name,” and added, “However, if the Giants are looking to give a fairly large contract to a free agent fielder, Lee Jung-hoo is the perfect fit.” did.
At the same time, ‘He has a strikeout rate of only 7.7% during his KBO career. He has had more walks than strikeouts for the last five years in a row. He is not a big power player, but his OPS is much higher in the KBO than Kim Ha-seong. Lee Jeong-hoo’s career OPS is 0.898, and Kim Ha-seong recorded a career OPS of 0.866 in 7 seasons at Kiwoom before signing with the San Diego Padres. Lee Jeong-hoo is 0.032 higher.
The media then said, ‘Except for Lee Jung-hoo, the free agent market is extremely barren. Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, and Matt Chapman are the big three, and they will try very hard to catch him, but there is little chance of success,” he said. “If it is not Ohtani and Lee Jung-hoo, the best way to upgrade the offense is the trade market.” Who will be on the market? Juan Soto and Pete Alonso? Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt? ‘Is there any team that would accept Mike Trout’s contract?’
Recently, San Francisco general manager Pete Putilla visited Gocheok Sky Dome and watched Lee Jung-hoo play. Yankees general manager Cashman said he started the offseason by receiving information from the Asian scout team.메이저놀이터
Lee Jeong-hoo’s price can soar just because the Yankees and San Francisco are competing against each other. The Yankees are the richest team, and San Francisco is always in the top five in Forbes’ Major League Baseball team value rankings. If this is the case, he may become the first KBO player to receive a contract worth more than $50 million or even $100 million.