Korean Shortstop Kang To Be Posted; Yankees Looking To Asia Again?

In case you didn’t know, the Yankees’ shortstop for the past 20 years, Derek Jeter, is set to retire at the end of this current season. That end seemed to have already been reached for the Bombers, who are set to miss the playoffs for the sec0nd year in a row. Well, it’s no reason to cry over the season ending on a poor note, because the front office will be hitting the off-season’s deep free agent market in order to retool for the 2015 campaign. So with the Captain gone, the Yankees will have a shortstop near the top of their shopping list. There are plenty of veteran shortstops available via free agency. The always reliable J.J. Hardy (Orioles) could potentially fill Jeter’s shoes while the wild card in Hanley Ramirez (Dodgers) is also set to hit the market. Other solid options include Asdrubal Cabrera (Nationals) and Jed Lowrie (Athletics) but neither is the ideal heir to Jeter’s thrown at shortstop. But, recently another option has emerged for the Yankees, and it could bring their search for a middle infielder across the globe.

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Last off season the Yankees went all the way to Japan to fill the club’s need for an ace starting pitcher. The decision was a success as they signed phenom Masahiro Tanaka to a big deal and no one can complain about the results. This year they could go back to Asia, this time, to Korea in order to fill their hole at shortstop. 27-year-old Jung-Ho Kang, who has been one of the biggest stars in the KBO (Korea’s baseball league) for the past few seasons. Kang displays both offensive prowess, boasting big power numbers (.360 batting average, 38 home runs, 107 RBI along with a .463 on base percentage in 2014) as well as showing off some flashy defense throughout his career. Most scouts believe he’ll be able to move from the KBO to Major League Baseball without needing any times in the minor leagues. Kang is a righty and his power from that side of the plate is something that is a rare commodity in today’s game, especially for a shortstop which has become more of a finesse position in recent years.

But, as with any unknown import, there is a catch. In Japan’s league, pitching reigns supreme and that’s what led to the worry about Tanaka and how he’ll translate to big league hitting. Korea’s league is known for hitting and it’s unknown how Kang will fair against big league pitching. We know that talent and ability translates no matter where the game is being played, but how much can anyone actually expect from him? Also, no hitter has ever successfully made the move from the KBO to Major League Baseball (Shin-Shoo Choo and others before him were amateur free agents and never played in the Korean leagues). By no means does that indicate that Kang is destined for failure, but it does mean it’d be a long road ahead.

In an era where having an everyday shortstop is a luxury many teams don’t have, the Yankees, even if only for a second, are about to join the teams in the search for one after 20 years. Kang’s power ability is something that teams are looking for and will most likely bring him a big contract wherever he does go. While it’s not known if the Yankees are looking at Kang as an off-season target, they’ll likely have a winter as busy as last year’s and they’ll need a shortstop. They’ll definitely consider making a run at the up and coming young unknown. It might just end up turning into something special.