According to Nick Carfado of the Boston Globe, major league teams will have the chance to make bids at Korean shortstop Jung-Ho Kang this offseason, as he will be posted in November. Carfado notes that he will be posted "under the old posting system in which the highest blind bidder gets exclusive negotiating rights." Kang needs to be posted by the Nexen Heroes, his KBO club because he is currently under contract with them.
Global Sporting Integration, a company that "enables professional athletes from abroad to adapt, survive, and thrive while playing their sports in the United States," according to their website, wrote back in September in Kang's international profile that "earlier this year, both the owner and the manager of the Heroes stated that they would like to support Kang in his wishes to play in MLB after the season." GSI also noted that Kang had previously expressed interest about taking his talents to the MLB.
Jung-Ho Kang, who will turn 28-years-old in April, slashed .360/.463/.756 in 107 games this season for the Nexen Heroes. Kang added 33 doubles, 38 home runs and 107 runs batted in. 2014 was a career year for Kang, as his previous highs were 25 home runs back in 2012 and 96 runs batted in last season in 2013. His numbers this season, however, far supplanted the league average of .291/.367/.447.
Kang debuted as a 19-year-old back in 2006 for the Hyundai Unicorns, who became the Woori Heroes in 2008 and the Nexen Heroes in 2010. In his rookie season in 2006, he hit .150/.150/.200 in only a ten game sample, where he collected three hits, one double and one run batted in, but he had three errors on defense.
Kang also appeared for the Korean national team in the 2013 version of the World Baseball Classic. He went 2-for-9 in the three games that he appeared in. One of his hits was an eighth-inning two-run home run that gave Korea the lead over Taiwan, as Korea would go on to eventually win the pool game. Taiwan won that pool, despite losing this game.
Kang is viewed as a highly-regarded shortstop both offensively and defensively by teams and their respective scouts. Nick Carfado notes that even though many teams are aware of his potential power numbers, some teams are worried about his swing, which consists of a long, slow leg kick, that may not transition to the majors well.
Many scouts don't know whether Kang will be able to perform as a shortstop at the highest level in the world, as many profile him as either a third baseman or a second baseman, despite him winning Korea's Gold Glove Award, which actually is like the MLB's Silver Slugger Award.
Carfado wrote back in September that the St. Louis Cardinals showed early interest in the Korean infielder, but it appears that they won't make an impactful bid on him due to the fact they have Matt Carpenter, Kolten Wong and Jhonny Peralta set in their infield. One team that may make a bid on the shortstop is the New York Yankees. The Yankees' shortstop Derek Jeter retired after the end of the 2014 regular season, so it wouldn't be a surprise if the Yankees did their best to win a bid for Kang.
Kang would certainly contribute to the team in the offensive categories, but it remains to be seen if he can be a shortstop in the big leagues. All these questions will be answered once Kang is posted in Novemeber, as a team will end up landing a star infielder from Korea with good power and savy defense.