Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The Pros and Cons of Korean SS Jung-Ho Kang, According to The Star Ledger

Star Ledger Yankees Writer Brendan Kuty has released his pros and cons for soon-to-be posted Korean SS Jung-Ho Kang, whom the team may pursue this offseason.

Here are the pros of the article, which can be read here:

"As far as Korean Baseball Organization shortstops go, Kang is the cream of the crop. He's got four 20-plus homer seasons and he's coming off a year in which he slammed 38 bombs, drove in 107 runs and hit .360. He's also just 27 years old. Compare that to 32-year-old Stephen Drew and 30-year-old Hanley Ramirez and you've got the longterm shortstop option you wanted to replace Derek Jeter, one who's just entering his prime."

And the cons:

"The KBO is a step down from Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, which is a step down from Major League Baseball. Who's to say whether Kang's offensive numbers will hold up? Just one South Korean infielder, Hee Seop Choi, has made a respectable transition to the majors, and Choi hasn't played in the majors since 2005."

Basically, in a best-case scenario it seems Kang would be an average-to-slightly-above-average infielder for the Yankees, although after their successful international signing of Masahiro Tanaka last offseason, it wouldn't be that strange if they went ahead and inked him anyway.

You be the judge. Is Kang worth the financial risk, or should New York just stick with the aforementioned Drew?

2 comments:

  1. I say pass on him! We have Abiatal Avelino and Tyler Wade about two, more or fewer years away! I know they are going to be in "A" or "AA" next year, which makes me wonder....why not use Brendan Ryan and Prado for a year or so, by then one of them will be ready.
    Or, IF they are in that big a rush to have someone now. get one of those from Cubs or one of the other teams that are overstocked at SS. Then when the kids are ready they can fight for the job.

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  2. I'd like the Yankees to have a little more certainty for next season and beyond. More on that tomorrow morning.

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)