Reese Kaplan -- Will Sandy and Stevie Look Across the Water?

One of the things that truly irked me during the Wilpon imprisonment for Mets fans was their blatant disdain for anyone who didn’t do their development in the USA, Central or South America.  Yes, there were the oddball choices now and then of third-tier players like Kaz Matsui or Tsuyoshi Shinjo or Masato Yoshii or Ryota Igarashi or Hisanori Takahashi who were given opportunities to play.  Yes, they picked up retreads who flamed out elsewhere like Daisuke Matsuzaka (Dice-K), Hideo Nomo and Nori Aoki.  What you never saw was the Wilpon Mets bidding on the best of the best as was done by the Dodgers, Yankees, Mariners and others.  

Everyone has heard Sandy Alderson’s proclamation that the Mets are indeed looking to strengthen their roster via free agency rather than trades.  That philosophy is understandable as the club is now owned by the wealthiest man in baseball and the last GM pretty much traded away anyone with value to try to bring a quick fix to Queens.  

While many folks are eyeballing the likes of Francisco Lindor or Nolan Arenado as certainly high quality additions that would look good in a Mets uniform, it would take a small army of current and future major leaguers to go to the selling ball clubs to bring these players to LaGuardia.  Oh yeah...there’s that thing about an annual average salary of about $32.5 million per year for Arenado from now through his age 35 season in 2026. 

We won’t even get into his Coors and Away-Game splits.  Lindor would not be nearly that expensive in 2021 at a tick under $20 million, but at the end of the year he is a free agent, so he could likely do a Mike Hampton and head to a big payday outside of New York.  So the question is whether or not giving up the best of your present and future to take on these risks and salary obligations is a smart move?

There are free agent infielders out there such as D.J. LeMahieu who wouldn’t cost anything in terms of MLB players or prospects leaving town to bring him on board, but is a clone of Jeff McNeil worth $20 million or so per year for the next five years through his age 37 season?  I think not.  He’s a fine hitter, but you don’t build for the future following the Curtis Granderson model of securing older free agents whose best days are likely behind them.  

So given the parameters outlined above, perhaps it’s time to look at what would be a suitable free agent acquisition.  Securing someone who is entering the prime of his career would be ideal.  A player with above average defensive skills would be another check mark on the list of desirable characteristics. 

Hitting for power is always a good thing, as is hitting for average.  Often the two are mutually exclusive where the long ball sluggers sometimes hit .250 or less.  Finally, in an era where small ball has come to die, a player who makes strong contact without striking out 25% of the time and who can steal a base would also help make for a productive addition to the team.  Finally, wouldn’t it be nice if you could land this player without paying more than what Jeurys Familia earns for his modest contributions?

It turns out that in South Korea’s KBO there is a player recently posted by his team by the name of Ha-Seong Kim who has been with two different clubs since debuting at the age of just 18.  He’s been in professional baseball now for seven seasons and is ready to bring his game to the American Major Leagues.  At the now ripe old age of 25 he’s a free agent available to the highest bidder.  

So what does Mr. Kim bring to the game?  Well, after a short 60-game debut primarily as a pinch hitter at age 18, he became a regular at 19 and in his first full season effort he hit .290 with 19 HRs, 73 RBIs, 22 SBs and won accolades for his play at shortstop.  About the only blemish was a somewhat eye opening 119 strikeouts, but over the course of the next several years that number came down dramatically to a total of just 68 during his full 2020 season during which he hit .308 with 30 HRs, 109 RBIs and 23 SBs. 

This past year he split time between SS and 3B.  Scouts seem to feel he could handle any of the three infield positions but would probably have the most value to a club if he stuck at shortstop.  The huge positive flag in the 2020 season is the fact he walked more times than he struck out, so he’s a guy who knows how to work the strike zone as a hitter.  For his career he’s a .294 hitter who three times eclipsed the century mark in RBIs and going into his age 26 season he’s likely to get even better with more experience.  

Now comes the best part of this prospective acquisition.  The scouts and professional baseball writers have him pegged for a five year deal for about $40 million.  Add to that the money you’d owe his Korean team for the posting fee and the total goes up to about $48 million. 

Do the math.  You’re looking at a high average hitter with power, great on-base skills, strong defense and base stealing for about $9.6 million per season.  Now THAT looks like good baseball business compared to the older free agent to be named Lindor and the older and significantly more expensive Arenado.

I know, I know.  Right away people will rush to point out the great many foreign prospects who did not flourish upon arriving to the big leagues.  That’s fair if you view it in the proper perspective.  How many American, Central American and South American prospects coming up through the system traditionally take the baseball world by storm?  How many simply vanish without reaching the majors or who bumble around as fringe players who get DFA’d while logging way too many innings in the minors? 

The difference this time is that all it takes is money.  The Wilpons weren’t willing (or able) to spend on payroll the way fans would expect a New York team owner to act.  If he comes here and is good but not great, that salary is probably fair.  If he flubs completely, well, that’s less than a year and a half of Nolan Arenado and less than two years of Francisco Lindor (if he signed an extension).  It’s the kind of risk the Wilpons would never take.  Let’s see if the new sheriff in town will act differently.