As a result, Lee Jung-hoo and Ko Woo-seok, who are brother-in-law and brother-in-law, can freely negotiate with 30 teams from Friday until 5 p.m. on January 3 next year (U.S. Eastern Time). The deadline is 7 a.m. on January 4.
Lee Jung-hoo, the son of former LG coach Lee Jong-beom, who dominated an era, and his son-in-law Ko Woo-seok have taken full-fledged steps to advance to the Major League, and former coach Lee also has plans to train in the U.S. next year, which means that the “Family of Wind” will be out on the big stage.
The person who the Major League is paying attention to is Lee Jung-hoo, who dominated the KBO league. The official Major League social networking service (SNS) highlighted Lee Jung-hoo’s overall performance during the seven seasons by producing an infographic. The post included 2017 Rookie of the Year, 2022 MVP, five Golden Gloves, 0.340 batting average, 515-run OPS (on-base plus slugging) 0.898.
Big league teams are showing considerable interest in Lee Jung-hoo, who expressed his intention to advance to the big league early on. According to local media, San Francisco, New York Yankees, San Diego, and New York Mets, who have considerable financial power and markets, are considered the most promising destinations. Lee Jung-hoo’s stock price is also soaring as the recruitment race intensifies. ESPN predicted that Lee Jung-hoo will sign a four-year, 63 million-dollar contract.
Ko Woo-suk will also follow the same path as Lee Jung-hoo, as he was confirmed to have been posted on the same date as Lee Jung-hoo. As the posting was known relatively late, Ko is less competitive than Lee Jung-hoo. As a closing pitcher representing the KBO League, he has 139 saves in his career, and his main weapon is strong balls. Although he was sluggish with 3 wins, 8 losses, 15 saves and an ERA of 3.68 this season, he had his best season last year with 4 wins, 2 losses and 42 saves and an ERA of 1.48.
The team that is interested in Ko is the St. Louis Cardinals, which aims to strengthen its bullpen. St. Louis was a team where Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung) and Kim Kwang-hyun (SSG) played in the past, and has deep relationship with Korean players. However, the LG Twins team has conditionally allowed Ko’s challenge, saying it will judge based on the transfer fee.
Clubs that recruit Lee Jung-hoo and Ko Woo-suk will have to pay posting fees to their original teams. If the amount of the guaranteed contract offered to the player by the Major League Baseball is less than $25 million, 20% of it ($5 million) will be paid to the former team. If the total guaranteed contract amount is between $25 million and $50 million, it will add 20% of the $25 million and 17.5% of the $25 million or more. If the total guaranteed amount exceeds $50 million, 20% of the $25 million, 17.5% of the $25 million to $50 million, and 15% of the $50 million excess will be added to the entire team. 사설토토