The New York Mets said they are prepared to begin the 2015 season with 23-year-old Wilmer Flores as their shortstop, but there have been multiple reports about the team searching for someone outside the organization. Is Jung-ho Kang an option?
Kang is currently the shortstop for the Nexen Heroes in the Korean Baseball Organization. His team is expected to post him on Monday, which means MLB clubs have the opportunity to place a bid to obtain the rights to exclusively negotiate with him. The team with the highest bid is granted the privilege, and with middle infielders in high demand this offseason, Kang may have a number of suitors.
The Mets could be one of those teams because they've been wanting to upgrade at the shortstop position. The 27-year-old Kang had by far his best season in 2014 with the Heroes after slashing .356/.459/.739 with 103 runs scored, 40 home runs and 117 RBIs in 117 games. Despite this excellent campaign, there remain two questions regarding Kang: will his skills successfully translate to the MLB and is he a true shortstop?
As for the former, many won't be able to determine that until he reaches the United States. But his ability to play the infield is something that might be more obvious. 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. If the Mets are looking to upgrade at shortstop, this Kang might not be their best option because of his possible defensive issues. However, nothing is definite as of right now because general manager Sandy Alderson told reporters on Saturday that the team is "undecided" about entering the bidding process for Kang.
In 902 career games (nine seasons), Kang has a stat line of .298/.383/.504 with 139 home runs and 545 RBIs, which would significantly help the Mets' offense if those skills were to translate to the MLB as well as the spacious Citi Field. But if the Mets are serious about upgrading, taking a shot in the dark on a 27-year-old foreign player may not be the best idea. New York attempted to acquire Troy Tulowitzki at the trade deadline this year, but that never came to fruition because Colorado was intent on keeping him. Although they were willing to give up young talent while taking on the $114 million remaining on Tulowitzki's contract, it's hard to see why they would spend upwards of $40 million for Kang, who might not even be a true shortstop. Tulo, when healthy, is regarded as the top shortstop in the game, which would be fully worth the remainder of his contract.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post insists the Mets should go "all in" to acquire Tulowitzki, but that doesn't look like it will happen. The biggest question of all is why the team wants to move on from Flores already. The 23-year-old has only played in 105 MLB games and has yet to prove himself. In 162 games in Triple-A Las Vegas, the Venezuelan slashed .321/.360/.543 with 112 runs scored, 28 home runs and 143 RBIs.
So unless the Mets can acquire an all-around shortstop that is tops in the league, there's little reason for them to replace Flores for Opening Day in 2015, especially with a risky player such as Kang.
