MLB New York Yankees

Jung-Ho Kang is Potential High Reward Target For Yankees

jung-ho kang

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The Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez signings of last week have sent ripples through this year’s MLB free agent market. It’s caused teams to re-evaluate their strategies and players to rethink how much they’re worth.

The New York Yankees‘ need to re-sign third baseman Chase Headley becomes absolutely crucial, as other teams interested in him will continue to increase and Alex Rodriguez is no longer the answer there. The other big priority for the Yankees should be to sign a shortstop. Derek Jeter leaving obviously leaves a huge void in New York, and Stephen Drew or Brendan Ryan is not the long term answer there. So barring a big-time trade with the Colorado Rockies for Troy Tulowitzki, the Yankees might need to look for an outside-the-box option to provide them with an answer at shortstop.

That answer might lie in South Korea, with shortstop Jung-Ho Kang. He plays for the Nexen Heroes and has expressed interest in moving to the Major Leagues. He is drawing attention because of a standout 2014 season where he hit .360 with 38 homers, a record for shortstops in the Korean Baseball Organization.

This has caused a lot of debate about Kang’s talents and potential drawbacks. On the positive side, power hitting shortstops are an extremely rare commodity. He has the ability to be an above average offensive shortstop, something the Yankees haven’t had since Jeter was still going strong. He is also considered to be at least an average defensive shortstop, with decent range, who would get the job done in the pros.

The biggest negatives that most scouts see when grading Kang are the differences he’ll see if he does come to the Majors. Kang is known for a high leg kick when he hits, even more so than most other Asian players. He gets away with it in Korea, as pitchers tend to rely more on offspeed pitches than pure velocity. But a lot of scouts feel that Kang’s biggest struggle would come as he adapts to pitchers that throw significantly harder than the ones in the KBO. They could try and jam him with fastballs and cause problems for a hitter that keeps his leg up as the pitcher is in his delivery.

Despite the potential drawbacks of signing Kang to a big contract, the Yankees should consider taking the risk on a player like him. Kang is relatively young and could provide a big boost once he adapts to the American pace of play. Also, the Yankees could afford signing him to a large contract, as contracts like Jeter’s are departing, and they’ve never been afraid to spend money. Kang is by no means a perfect prospect, and there is a lot of risk attached to him. However, in an offseason where the Yankees need to recommit to winning after a few disappointing seasons, taking on the potential of a player like Kang could be exactly what they need.

Owen Gabbey is a baseball writer who also contributes for the NFL for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ogab_3, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google. 

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