Pittsburgh Pirates win bidding for shortstop Kang Jung-ho

Major League Baseball (MLB) announced early Tuesday, Korean time, that the Pittsburgh Pirates have won the bidding for the posted South Korean shortstop Kang Jung-ho.

The Pirates announced the news on their website, shortly after Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted that the Pirates had put in the winning bid for Kang in an MLB-wide silent auction held earlier this month.

The Nexen Heroes, Kang's Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club, on Saturday received the result of the bidding race and promptly accepted the bid of US$5,002,015, before learning the identity of the winner.

The Pirates will have exclusive rights to negotiate a contract with Kang for 30 days.

Before Kang was posted, clubs such as the New York Mets, the San Francisco Giants, the Oakland Athletics, the Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals were reportedly interested in the 27-year-old shortstop. After the Heroes accepted the bid, the Philadelphia Phillies were bandied about as the potential winner.

The Pirates weren't considered a front-runner for Kang because their infield looked set, with Jordy Mercer at short, Neil Walker at second and Josh Harrison at third.

The winning bid is the second highest amount for a South Korean player, behind the $25.7 million that the Los Angeles Dodgers put in for left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin in 2012. Ryu later signed a six-year deal worth $36 million. Ryu remains the only South Korean to jump from the KBO to the majors via posting.

If the Pirates and Kang reach an agreement, the Heroes will pocket the money submitted in the bid for Kang as compensation.

If Kang fails to sign a contract within 30 days, he cannot be posted again until Nov. 1, 2015, and the Heroes will not get that $5 million. Kang will then have a choice of entering contract talks with interested teams in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) or return to the Heroes for at least one more season.

Kang may be posted against next November or may have contract talks with NPB clubs. After the 2016 season, Kang will become an unrestricted free agent and can sign with an MLB club without getting posted.

Kang is the first KBO position player ever to be posted, and is the third player from the KBO to be posted this offseason. Earlier, the SK Wyverns' left-hander Kim Kwang-hyun and the Kia Tigers' left-hander Yang Hyeon-jong both tried to reach the big leagues through posting.

The San Diego Padres bid $2 million for Kim but the two sides failed to reach an agreement during their 30-day period. The Tigers rejected the winning bid submitted for Yang, which was reportedly around $1.5 million.

Kang is represented by Alan Nero, a veteran agent and managing director of the baseball division at Octagon. An informed industry source earlier told Yonhap News Agency that Nero is seeking a four-year deal worth $5 million per year, a three-year contract for $5.5 million per season or a two-year deal valued at $6 million per season.

Kang enjoyed the best offensive season of his career in 2014.

He played in 117 of the team's 128 games and set career-highs with a .356 batting average, 40 home runs and 117 RBIs. The home run and RBI totals were both single-season records by a shortstop in the KBO.

Kang also established new personal bests with 149 hits, 36 doubles, 103 runs scored, a .459 on-base percentage and a .739 slugging percentage. He ranked among the KBO leaders in all major offensive categories except for steals.

For his career, Kang is a .298 hitter in 902 games with 139 home runs, 545 RBIs and 51 steals.

Kang, a catcher in high school and early in his pro career, is known for a strong arm but also has a reputation for botching routine plays. Given limited range and agility, some MLB teams reportedly showed interest in Kang as a third baseman or a second baseman.

At his press conference in Seoul on Sunday, Kang said he'd like to start out playing shortstop and if he had to switch positions, he'd rather play third base than second base because he was more familiar with the hot corner. Kang played third base for the South Korean national team at the 2010 Asian Games.

Kang also said his goal was to hit around .260 to .270 with 15 or so home runs in his first big league season.

The Pirates have been to the playoffs in each of the past two seasons out of the National League Central Division. They earned one of two NL Wild Cards in 2014 with a 88-74 record, but lost to the eventual World Series champs San Francisco Giants in the Wild Card Game.

Among 30 MLB clubs, the Bucs finished sixth with 156 home runs, 10th with 682 runs scored and fifth with a .259 batting average.

Seven of their eight regular position players reached double figures in home runs in 2014.

For the Pirates, Jordy Mercer was their primary shortstop in 2014, playing 144 of his 149 games there. The 28-year-old batted .255 with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs, while also improving  his defense.

Pedro Alvarez patrolled the hot corner in 99 of his 122 games.

He had 18 home runs and 56 RBIs with a .231 average.

Utility man Josh Harrison split his 143 games in five different positions: second base, third base, shortstop, left field and right field. He spent most of the time at third, with 72 games. Harrison enjoyed his most productive season with 13 home runs, 52 RBIs, 18 steals and a .315 average.

With Ike Davis gone after playing some first base in 2014, Alvarez may slide over to first base and allow Harrison to assume the regular third base job.

Second baseman Neil Walker finished second on the club with 23 home runs and 76 RBIs, while batting .271. The 28-year-old has been Pittsburgh's everyday second baseman since 2010. (Yonhap)