Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that infielder Jae-gyun Hwang has decided to return to South Korea after an “unforgettable and disappointing” season with the Giants, according to his agent Han Lee.
The Giants signed Hwang in January to a minor league contract with a major league salary of $1.5 million. He spent the first three months of the season with Triple-A Sacramento, where he hit .290/.336/.478 in 280 plate appearances. The Giants called him up at the end of June, but success didn’t follow him to the majors. In 57 big league plate appearances, Hwang hit a disappointing .154/.228/.231. The Giants sent him back down to the minors and didn’t bring him back up when rosters expanded in September.
Hwang, now 30, will return to the Korean Baseball Organization where he found tremendous success. Over parts of 10 seasons there from 2007-16, Hwang amassed a .785 OPS with 115 home runs and 173 stolen bases.
