According to SB Nation's Chris Cotillo, the Philadelphia Phillies are among the frontrunners for Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang:
Though the winning team is still unknown, one industry source with knowledge of Korea predicted that the Phillies or Nationals could be the frontrunners at this point. Philadelphia has focused some scouting on Kang in the recent past, and has an opening in the middle infield after trading Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers during the Winter Meetings.
Earlier this morning, the Nexen Heroes accepted a bid of $5,002,015 from a "yet-to-be-identified" club for Kang. This MLB team will earn 30-day exclusive rights to negotiate a contract, and if an agreement cannot be reached, Kang would be forced to either return to the Heroes, or join a team in the Japanese NPB league.
A source close to Philliedelphia suggested earlier this evening that the Phillies just might indeed be the "mystery team" interested in the 27-year-old:
Source on Kang possibly connected with the #Phillies: "They are the team that's just crazy enough to bet 5 million on the guy."
— Philliedelphia (@Philliedelphia) December 21, 2014
Currently, even Kang is unsure of the identify of the team who won the auction bid:
SS Kang Jung-ho says he still doesn't know which team won the bidding for him; says it doesn't matter which team, as long as he feels wanted
— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) December 21, 2014
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is a contributor to Philliedelphia.com.
