The New York Mets, whose owner is Steve Cohen, will participate in the race to recruit Lee Jung-hoo (25), sent a chill to the public. It was reported that Lee Jung-hoo was considered a backup, not a main outfielder.
Michael Marino, a reporter for the U.S. media Pantrax, said on his SNS on the 5th (Korea Standard Time), “Metz seems pretty determined to add a defensive fourth outfielder. I heard four players who met the conditions, and they are Lee Jung-hoo, Kevin Kiermaier, Michael A. Taylor, and Manuel Margot.” 온라인경마
The news that USA Today, a leading U.S. media outlet, said on the 4th, “Mets is showing great interest in recruiting Lee Jung-hoo,” became a hot topic among Korean baseball fans for a day. According to another media outlet, the New York Post, 20 major league teams, including the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees, have already expressed interest in Lee Jung-hoo even before the posting notice. As a result, the total contract amount ranged from at least $50 million (MLB.com ) to $90 million (CBS Sports).
On top of that, the news of Mets joining, which has become a big player in the FA market in recent years, inevitably led to an increase in Lee Jung-hoo’s ransom. The Mets invested Japanese pitcher Senga Godai in a five-year, 75 million dollars last winter, and there seemed to be a good chance that they could spend a lot of money on another Asian player, Lee Jung-hoo.
However, this is what happened when Lee Jung-hoo was considered as the main outfielder. All the players Marino mentioned together are considered to be better defense players than offense. Kiermaier boasts the best center field defense in the Major League, receiving four Gold Gloves and one Platinum Glove. Taylor, who has a career batting average of 0.239, also received the Gold Glove Award once, and Margot is said to have had no experience in winning Gold Glove, but he also has batting performance in defense.
As Marino said, all three players are considered suitable as the fourth outfield resource for Major League teams, and according to Spotrack, an annual salary statistics media outlet, their annual salary is set at around 7 million U.S. dollars. In other words, Lee Jung-hoo will not be able to make a big hit if he is combined with them.
If Lee Jung-hoo’s defense was on the same line as them, there are two cases. It is the case that Lee Jung-hoo’s defense was rated higher than the public’s average or made a mistake. In the Major League, Lee Jung-hoo has excellent contact tools, but his defense and base running tools are considered to be just about the average in the Major League.
Baseball America, a U.S. media outlet that reported Lee’s posting on the day, also said, “Lee Jung-hoo has the nickname of grandson of the wind. He is more of a runner than a true speed star (like his father),” adding, “He has good judgment ability in center field, but he has a narrow range when it comes to balls that go over his head. He can also face difficulties in a wider outfield, but he is expected to become an average center fielder. If he has to change his position, he has a slightly below-average shoulder enough to go to left field.”
It seems certain that the Mets will find an outfielder who is good at defense. Andy Martino, who is in charge of the New York Mets at SNY, the New York area, also said on his SNS, “The Mets talked with Taylor, who is an FA. General manager David Stearns said that defense and versatility are important.”