From Cuba to Korea: Yankees Need To Bid On Kang and Tomas

This is New York. Let’s not babble on and on about money and luxury tax. Even though the team looked lost for the entire season they always seemed to be just one or two pieces shy of breaking out dominating all of baseball. Unfortunately, one or two pieces isn’t exactly easy to come by in the middle of the season so the team stunk up the place for the majority of the year. Now, two viable options could possibly come together from opposite sides of the globe to bring the Yankees back to big time contention.

Folks, there’s a legitimate superstar slugger in Yasmani Tomas from Cuba and a potential shortstop star in the Korean born, Jung-Ho Kang and the Yankees could use the services of one if not both. After missing out on the postseason again they Yankees need to have another big off season and these two guys could be the centerpieces.

Mandatory Credit: zimbio.com

As we know, the Yankees threw some money around in Japan to acquire ace Masahiro Tanaka who has already proven to be worth his contract. So, it’s evident that they are not afraid to splurge outside of the United States boarders. But venturing into the Korean and Cuban leagues can be risky and will defiantly be pricey. Tomas posses big time right handed power which is a luxury in today’s game. He plays the corner outfield spots and could be valuable for a Yankees team who got very little out of their right field position this season. At only 23 Tomas could become one of the cornerstone pieces to the Yankees aging team. The walls of Yankee Stadium certainly are built for someone of his offensive prowess. All that adds up to predicted contract of over $100 million dollars, which would make him the highest paid Cuban import defector in the history of Major League Baseball.

The Yankees chased fellow Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo but ultimately lost out to the rival Red Sox. Could the Yankees spend big and once again go toe to toe against their dreaded rivals? After the success of Cuban natives Jose Abrue, Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig I don’t see why the Yankees wouldn’t put up this money for Tomas. The team is reportedly sending scouts to watch his showcase in the Dominican Republic.

If I had to choose one of these international to sign I’d choose shortstop Jung-Ho Kang. At 27, Kang has been the pride of Korea’s KBO league for some time now and he’s sparked interest from a lot of Major League clubs. He hit 38 home runs and drove in 107 RBI in 2014. While the Korean league is known for being a power league Kang’s power can not be ignored and his defense is certainly turning heads as well.

He’s younger than every other shortstop on the free agent market and with Derek Jeter calling it quits it may be wise to bring a new face into baseball to represent the changing of a new era.

What will Kang get contract wise? Executives aren’t sure but he should get a pretty lucrative contract due to the need for star quality shortstops. It’s not known if the Yankees are preparing to bid for the soon to be posted, Kang but I can’t see a reason they wouldn’t. Word of warning, no former KBO player has ever successfully transitioned to Major League Baseball and Kang would have a lot of eyes on him (I have to say the T-Shirt possibilities for a name like “Kang” are infinite).

Would it be worth it? The Yankees obviously had interest in Rusney Castillo when he was the flavor of the week and Tomas is said to be far better. They’ll have stiff competition if they decide to actively pursue him (Which remains to be seen) but if they did bring in the superstar hopeful it’d be huge for the team after a rough 2014 offensive campaign.

It’s all about need meeting resources. Do you have a need? Do you have the money? As always the international market comes with a gamble but it’s a gamble that needs to be made. Just for fun here’s what the Yankees lineup could look like with both Kang and Tomas added to the mix (Adding no other free agents).

CF  Jacoby Ellsbury  (Left handed)

2B  Martin Prado  (Right Handed)

RF  Yasmani Tomas (Right Handed)

C  Brian McCann  (Left Handed)

DH  Carlos Beltran  (Switch Hitter)

3B Alex Rodriguez  (Right Handed)

1B Mark Teixeira  (Switch Hitter)

LF  Brett Gardner  (Left Handed)

SS  Jung-Ho Kang  (Right Handed)

That’s a pretty nice offense. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. Stay tuned!