Last month the Tampa Bay Rays made it known they were making outfielder Matt Joyce available in a trade and they acted on it on Tuesday. Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang was posted by his team and the deadline for bids from MLB teams has been determined.
Joyce was traded to the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday afternoon in exchange for reliever Kevin Jepsen. The Rays were looking to unload Joyce because he's entering his third year of arbitration eligibility and is expected to earn at least $5 million, which wouldn't have helped the team's mission of lowering the payroll. In six seasons with Tampa Bay, the 30-year-old slashed .250/.342/.435 with 76 home runs and 280 RBIs.
Jepsen will now head to Tampa Bay. The 30-year-old appeared in 74 games last season and maintained a 2.63 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 75 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched. The right-hander has spent his entire seven-year career with the Angels and has compiled a 13-18 record with a 3.94 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in 315 games (280 2/3 innings). According to Aaron Gleeman of NBC Sports' HardballTalk, Jepsen is projected to make $2.5 million in his second year of arbitration eligibility.
Aside from payroll relief, the Rays likely made this move because closer Jake McGee underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery on Friday and will start 2015 on the disabled list, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 27-year-old left-hander had a career year in 2014, during which he amassed a 5-2 record with a 1.89 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 19 saves and 90 strikeouts in 71 1/3 innings. Tampa Bay expects him to provide depth for their bullpen, which will now be missing McGee for a little while.
As for free agents, shortstop Jung-ho Kang has been posted by the Nexen Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports' provided the details of the bidding process for the 27-year-old. If an MLB team wishes to submit a big for Kang, it must be in by 5 p.m. ET on Friday, December 19. The Heroes will be notified of the highest bid the following Monday and will have three days to accept it. If they accept it, the team with the winning bid will have 30 days to strike a deal with Kang or else he will return to the Heroes and the bid will return to the MLB club.
According to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, Kang can cost upwards of $39 million. Bids are expected to range between $5 million and $15 million while the shortstop is reportedly looking for a contract in the ballpark of a three-year, $24 million deal.
