Ah-seop

Son

Lotte Giants third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang also asked to be posted, but KBO teams are only allowed to accept a bid on one player per offseason. Hwang could be tried if Son doesn’t draw a price to the Giants’ liking. Son, 27, batted .317/.406/.472 with 13 home runs and 54 RBI in 116 games this year in the hitter-friendly KBO. He had 18 home runs and 80 RBI in 122 games last year. The blind bidding process will probably start in November.

Son’s potential posting was first reported by the Yonhap News Agency in late October. Once posted, the 27-year-old will be eligible to receive blind bids from major league teams. He slashed a mean .317/.406/.472 with 13 homers and 54 RBI in 116 KBO games this season.

Son wasn’t viewed as a potential major impact guy in the majors, but it is surprising that he wasn’t bid on at all. The 27-year-old batted .317/.406/.472 with 13 homers and 54 RBI in 116 games for the Lotte Giants in 2015.

The Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization are expected to post Son on Monday. Once that happens, teams will have four days to submit a blind bid. The highest bidder will then have 30 days to negotiate with Son. A left-handed hitter, Son has only struck out in 15.6 percent of his career plate appearances. He’s drawn comparisons to Japanese outfielder Nori Aoki.

Son was technically posted on November 16, but due to when MLB actually processed his posting, he won’t be eligible to receive blind bids from Major League teams until Monday. Also on Monday, the 27-year-old will begin his four weeks of mandatory military training in South Korea. The Chiba Lotte Giants’ outfielder hit .317/.406/.472 with 13 homers and 54 RBI in 116 KBO games in 2015.

Korean teams operate under the old blind bidding process: MLB clubs can make “secret” one-off bids up until November 20, and the Giants will have until November 26 to accept a winner. Son should draw a good amount of attention after slashing .317/.406/.472 with 13 homers, 54 RBI, and 86 runs scored in 116 games this season in the KBO. The 27-year-old outfielder is riding high off Jung Ho Kang’s strong rookie year with the Pirates and the $12.85 million bid that Korean first baseman Byung-ho Park commanded last week from the Twins.