MLB clubs have a little over 24 hours to submit their bid for Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang, who was posted by his team on Monday. Another foreign player who was expected to hit the international free agent market is no longer being posted by his Japanese club.
All bids for Kang must be submitted by 5 p.m. ET on Friday and his Korean club, the Nexen Heroes, will be notified of the highest one the following Monday. The Heroes will then have three days to accept the bid, which will give the winning MLB club 30 days to negotiate with Kang. If negotiations fall through, Kang returns to the Heroes and the bid money returns to the MLB club.
According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and Oakland Athletics are "checking in" on the Korean shortstop, who is expected to cost upwards of $39 million. Judging by team needs, it seems as if the Giants and Athletics would be the top suitors for Kang since they have holes in the infield. Although Kang is considered to be a shortstop, many MLB scouts view him as a second or third baseman, which could help both of these clubs. The Giants have a glaring hole at third base following the departure of Pablo Sandoval and the Athletics have Nick Punto and Eric Sogard as their middle infielders, which indicate some sort of an upgrade is needed.
It will be known on Monday who submitted the winning bid for Kang.
Another foreign player, Kenta Maeda was expected to be posted by his Japanese club, the Hiroshima Carp. The right-hander is viewed as a back-of-the-rotation starter in the MLB after posting an 82-59 record with a 2.44 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in seven seasons in the Japan Central League. It was said the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees might be interested in him, but that speculation is no longer.
According to Jim Allen of the Kyodo News, the 26-year-old will not be posted by the Carp. It was previously noted the team's owner, Hajime Matsuda, was concerned with receiving the full posting fee for Maeda because 2014 was a down year for the starter (his worst since 2011). Since posting fees have been regulated and can no longer reach excessive amounts, Matsuda and the Carp will keep Maeda because they feel they won't get full value for him.
The right-hander will become a free agent after the 2017 season.
