The recruitment war of Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs who want Lee Jung-hoo (25-Keum Heroes) is about to begin in earnest.
Lee Jung-hoo’s team, Kiwoom, announced on the 4th that “Lee Jung-hoo’s Major League posting notice will be made on the 4th at US Eastern Time.”
Once the MLB office notifies 30 teams of Lee’s posting, he will be free to negotiate with all MLB teams from 8 a.m. ET the next day until 5 p.m. ET on the 30th day.
Accordingly, Lee’s negotiations to enter the MLB will begin in earnest at 8 a.m. ET on the 5th and 10 p.m. ET on the 5th.
Negotiations expire on the 3rd of the following month at 5pm ET and 7am PT on the 4th of the following month.
If he fails to reach an agreement with an MLB team during this period, he will have to move to the U.S. as a free agent (FA) after Nov. 1 of next year or through a posting system that requires club approval.
If Lee is successful in reaching the major leagues, he will be the fourth Kiwoom player to reach the big leagues through the posting system, following Kang Jeong-ho (2014-Pittsburgh Pirates), Park Byung-ho (2015-Minnesota Twins), and Kim Ha-seong (2020-San Diego Padres).
“We wish Lee the best of luck in his future endeavors as he qualifies for the posting and takes on the challenge of a bigger stage,” said Ko Hyung-wook, president of the Kiwoom organization.
The transfer fee received by Kiwoom will depend on the total amount of Lee’s contract.
Kiwoom will receive 20% of the guaranteed amount if Lee signs for a total of $25 million or less.
If the total is between $25 million and $50 million, Kiwoom receives $5 million, which is 20% of the $25 million minimum threshold, and 17.5% of the guaranteed amount above $25 million.
If the total exceeds $50.1 million, they receive $4.37 million in coverage up to $50 million, plus an additional 15% of the amount of coverage above $50 million.
Earlier in the day, Yahoo Sports in the United States cited MLB Trade Rumors, a website specializing in MLB trade market news, as predicting that Lee will sign a five-year, $50 million deal.
The contract total is expected to rise as more teams look for “a center fielder with batting average accuracy who can be expected to hit for a triple.
On the same day, USA Today reported that the New York Mets, a “rich club,” are interested in signing Lee.
“While the Mets have been quiet this winter, interest in South Korean center fielder Lee Jung-hoo is heating up,” USA Today reported.
MLB Network reporter John Heyman, who was the first to break the news of Lee’s MLB posting date, wrote on his social networking service X (formerly Twitter) that “a number of teams are interested, including the San Francisco Giants, San Diego and New York Yankees.”
The Giants have expressed direct interest, with general manager Pete Putteler traveling to Seoul’s Gocheok SkyDome to see Lee, while San Diego is reportedly looking to move Juan Soto and sign Lee as an alternative. 파워볼