Lee Jeong-hoo’s recruitment has reached the second stage Will Toronto participate in the war too?
Toronto fails to recruit Ohtani, focuses on strengthening batting lineup Lee Jung-hoo’s expected annual salary of $15 million was also mentioned.
Lee Jeong-hoo on the phone
As Shohei Ohtani (29, Los Angeles Dodgers) is looking for a destination, contract discussions for lower ranked free agents (FA) in the Major League Baseball (MLB) are in full swing.
The name of Lee Jeong-hoo (25), who is considered a major outfield free agent, is also being mentioned.Some media outlets predicted that the Toronto Blue Jays, who failed to recruit Ohtani, may jump into the race to recruit Lee Jung-hoo.
The Athletic, an American sports media outlet, selected 10 players affected by the Ohtani contract in an article titled ‘What the Ohtani contract means for other free agents’ on the 11th (Korean time).
The media grouped Lee Jeong-hoo and Japanese pitcher Shota Imanaga, saying, “Some teams evaluate the success potential of Korean and Japanese players more highly and actively recruit them,” adding, “Teams that were obsessed with recruiting Ohtani 10 years ago are going to choose Lee Jeong-hoo or Imanaga.” “There will be interest,” he analyzed.
The interpretation is that Ohtani’s success and large contract had a positive effect on the advancement of Asian players to the United States.
Yahoo Sports also mentioned Lee Jung-hoo when predicting the future free agent market.
The media ranked Lee Jeong-hoo as the 10th best free agent and said, “In order to recruit Lee Jeong-hoo, the San Diego Padres will have to invest more than they invested in recruiting Kim Ha-seong,” and added, “Kim Ha-seong will play a big role in erasing the uncertainty of players from the KBO League.” “I did,” he explained.
He continued, “Lee Jung-hoo could be a good alternative for the team that failed to recruit Cody Bellinger,” and added, “I look forward to seeing whether Lee Jung-hoo can receive an average of more than $15 million (approximately 19.7 billion won) per year.”
Local media also reported that Lee Jung-hoo has quickly emerged as a recruitment target for teams that failed to recruit Ohtani.
Forbes, an economic media outlet, said, “Toronto tried to recruit Ohtani but failed,” and added, “Toronto is focusing on strengthening its batting lineup, and Bellinger or Lee Jung-hoo could be the next recruits.”
Lee Jung-hoo greeting fans
There are quite a few MLB teams that have Lee Jeong-hoo on their list of candidates for recruitment.It is known that Kim Ha-seong’s team, San Diego, San Francisco Giants, and New York Mets are competing to recruit him.If Toronto participates in the war, Lee Jeong-hoo’s price could rise significantly.
Lee Jeong-hoo, who played for the KBO League Kiwoom Heroes until the 2023 season, is aiming to advance to the MLB through the posting system with Kiwoom’s permission.
Lee Jeong-hoo can freely negotiate with the 30 MLB teams until 7 a.m. on the 4th of next month. 토토사이트