Baltimore Orioles Interested in Signing Korean Byung-Ho Park?
The Baltimore Orioles are set to lose slugging first baseman Chris Davis in free agency if he does not sign the qualifying offer by the team. The Orioles already has a replacement in mind, two-time Korean Baseball Organization MVP Byung-ho Park, per Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.
The report said that Baltimore has scouted Park a few times this season and watched him for a couple of years now. There is a rumor that they will sign the first baseman, who was posted on Nov. 2 by the Nexen Heroes, to replace Davis.
Park is only 29 years old and has hit 52 home runs with 124 RBIs with a batting average of .303 last season. He was even better in 2015 as he clubbed 53 home runs and 146 RBIs while batting a ridiculous .343 in the KBO, per Baseball Reference.
In a report by NBC Sports, the KBO is a very hitter-friendly league, that's why the home run numbers are high, but it is still impressive for someone to hit 52 and 53 of it in consecutive seasons. Park is a teammate of current Pittsburgh utility infielder Jung Ho Kang, who was posted last season and signed with the Pirates.
The Nexen Heroes are accepting bids from MLB teams until Friday, with the highest bidder having 30 days to negotiating a contract with Park. MASN added that the posting fee will only be paid if the first baseman agrees to a deal with a team.
Other teams that showed interest in the Korean slugger are the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox, per Yonhap News Agency. According to his International Free Agent Profile on Amazin' Avenue, Park stands at six feet and one inch and weighs 230 pounds.
He has extraordinary power using a very long swing that MLB pitchers can exploit. The 29-year-old was prone to striking out a lot but draws a good amount of walks because of an excellent eye and the fact that he puts fear on pitchers. As for his defense, he has very low upside and can play third base but is best played at first or as a designated hitter.
According to The Baltimore Sun, the Orioles may save their money to sign extensions for third baseman Manny Machado and outfielder Adam Jones instead of signing Davis. He will turn 30 next year, and plenty of teams are willing to offer more money than Baltimore like the Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Miami Marlins, per Fan Sided.
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