Melky Cabrera, perhaps the top free agent outfielder on the market, finally has a contract offer, while another Korean baseball player is expected to be posted by his team on Monday.
According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, the Seattle Mariners have offered Cabrera a three-year contract. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but this is the first offer the outfielder has received this offseason besides the one-year qualifying offer that the Blue Jays presented him.
Cabrera made it known he wants at least a four-year deal, but so far this offseason the teams that expressed interest in him have not appeared willing to offer that many years. Earlier this week it was reported both the Mariners and Baltimore Orioles would not give the switch-hitter four years, with the Orioles noting they would go "two or three."
If Seattle's offer is a lucrative three-year deal then Cabrera might be inclined to accept it since his suitors are apparently not prepared to give him the years he wants. Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune noted on Friday that the team's potential offer to the outfielder could top out at three years and $42 million. The Mariners are in need of a corner outfielder, but they just signed the 34-year-old Nelson Cruz to a four-year deal and extended third baseman Kyle Seager for seven years and $100 million.
As for free agency outside the United States, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports Korean shortstop Jung-Ho Kang will be posted on Monday by his Korean club, the Nexen Heroes. Once he's posted, MLB teams can submit a bid to obtain the opportunity to exclusively negotiate with Kang. Due to the high demand of middle infielders in baseball right now, the Korean shortstop may have a number of suitors.
The 27-year-old Kang slashed .356/.459/.739 with 103 runs scored, 40 home runs and 117 RBIs in 117 games this past season. According to D.J. Short of NBC Sports' HardballTalk, some MLB scouts and teams view Kang as more of a second baseman or even a corner infielder. It could be known as early as the 2015 season how Kang's skills translate to the MLB.
The Korean owns a career stat line of .298/.383/.459 with 139 home runs and 545 RBIs in nine seasons (902 games).
