Dodgers and Yankees need Kim Ha-sung... Crazy Rumour Spread, but will Boras be satisfied?
Dodgers and Yankees need Kim Ha-sung... Crazy Rumour Spread, but will Boras be satisfied?
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The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees, who will face off at the 2024 World Series, will race side by side to win the World Series in 2025. They have shown their own movements during the offseason, and are busily moving. However, they do not feel as if they are leading the market as before.스포츠토토
The Yankees have reinforced their starting lineup by signing an eight-year deal with Max Fried, one of the top left-handers in the league, worth a whopping 218 million U.S. dollars. The starting lineup, led by the "three big contracts" that will lead to Gerrit Cole, Fried and Carlos Rodon, is attractive. In addition, the team has acquired top bullpen pitcher Devin Williams and MVP-turned-outfielder Cody Bellinger, and recently put out the lights on the first base by recruiting veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. However, Juan Soto, a key player of the team, lost some ground when he signed with the New York Mets.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, which have sucked in all offseason issues by recruiting Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez ahead of the 2024 season, are not very active this winter. Basically, the Dodgers are not managing the team's annual salary, as they paid $103 million in the wealth tax alone this year. The Yankees also already pay one of the best salaries in the league and spent more than $200 million on Fried, so they don't have much time to spare. Mark Painsand of the Major League's official website predicted, "The Yankees will not recruit more players worth more than $200 million in total."
For this reason, it is expected that the reinforcement of the two teams will be mainly focused on positions that are inexpensive and need reinforcement. Therefore, the name that has recently become a hot topic is Kim Ha-sung (29). The two teams have certain resources such as Mookie Betts (LA Dodgers) and Anthony Wolfie (New York Yankees) in their shortstop positions. On the contrary, second base is unstable. In addition, infield backup needs to be expanded. Kim Ha-sung is a perfect resource. There are many columns in the tone that Kim Ha-sung fits the two teams rather than specific negotiation news, but theoretically, it is a combination that can be fully linked.
The Dodgers selected Betts as the opening shortstop next year, but second base has yet to select a certain player. Gavin Lux was expecting a lot, but it fell short of the expected growth rate when he was a prospect. For the Yankees, Gleyber Torres, who was also a promising player in the team, was qualified as an FA and entered the market. Given that Torres' chances of a U-turn are low, he also needs to reinforce the second baseman and a shortstop to cover Wolfie's break, which was controversial this year.
Crucially, Kim Ha-sung's value was lower than expected. At the same time as he won the Gold Glove in the National League utility category in 2023, he showed his value in attack, which soared in value. Some predicted that a total of more than 100 million dollars would be needed for an extension contract ahead of the 2024 season. However, his performance in the 2024 season has not been noticeable, and he was on the operating table due to a shoulder injury at the end of the season. It is natural for clubs to hesitate as his shoulder condition has not been verified in practice while waiting for the opening game of the 2025 season seems difficult.
▲ Scott Boras, Kim Ha-sung's agency, is likely to closely analyze the market situation, watch the situation a little more than in a hurry, and aim for the best timing.
Therefore, there are predictions that Kim Ha-sung will be able to be recruited cheaply, and the Dodgers and Yankees, who do not have much financial capacity but need to reinforce second basemen and infielders, continue to be linked in theory. However, apart from that, it is questionable whether Scott Boras, Kim Ha-sung's agency and who is dreaming of the maximum success in the FA market, will prefer it. If the two teams come to the actual negotiation table, they are likely to reduce the financial burden by shortening the contract period as much as possible, and it completely conflicts with the direction Boras wants.
Some analysts say that there is nothing urgent for Boras as he still has more than a month and a half left until spring training, and Kim Ha-sung has now started full-fledged rehabilitation and technical training such as catch ball. As he has experience in drawing various results with his unique "final match," he is more likely to draw many teams to the negotiating table by reading the market situation rather than moving in a hurry. The conditions can be firmly attached to the one-year re-entry, which is the worst case.
Boras is an agent who makes the best use of the opt-out system. It was the same for the 2023-2024 Major League offseason. For starters, it was Cody Bellinger's contract that succeeded in revival. Bellinger wanted a long-term contract as it was the biggest jackpot opportunity in his life. However, Major League clubs did not respond very enthusiastically to Bellinger's one-year rebound. Bellinger wanted a total of more than 200 million dollars, but this was basically possible only with a 7-8 year contract period. No team met the requirements.
Then, at the end of the offseason, Boras placed an opt-out condition to open the door for Bellinger. Basically, he signed a three-year contract with the Chicago Cubs for a total of $80 million, which allowed them to opt-out every year instead. When the performance hits the jackpot, they only have to return to the FA market, and in the worst case scenario, they can make a lot of money, such as $80 million for three years. Since then, the same has been true of Boras' contracts with Matt Chapman and San Francisco. When Chapman's value did not rise as much as expected, he signed a three-year, $54 million contract and opt-out every year. And Chapman, who proved his worth, signed an extension for a six-year total of $151 million. He also prevented him from becoming a lost child and ultimately signed a contract to the desired level.
Blake Snell was one of the most notable successful cases. Despite mixed reviews from clubs, Snell also failed to achieve the desired contract size in the FA market. Then, he opted for a two-year, $62 million return with San Francisco, and imposed an opt-out condition. He secured a huge amount of 31 million dollars per year and saw a chance to make a big hit in the future. Snell showed off his capabilities in 2024, and eventually signed a five-year total of 182 million dollars with the Dodgers after the opt-out.