Oakland Athletics: Would Hyun-soo Kim Be A Good Fit For The Team?
With the Winter Meetings starting this weekend, it is well known that the Oakland Athletics are going to be active. Jane Lee from MLB.com reported that the A’s will be continuing to rebuild their bullpen, possibly looking for another starting pitcher, and using either Brett Lawrie or Danny Valencia as trading chips. However, the Winter Meetings will not be the only place where the Athletics will be acquiring new players this offseason. They could also be active in the international market.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Oakland Athletics are looking closely at Korean free agent outfielder Hyun-soo Kim. Earlier in November, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports wrote that this 27-year-old wants to sign with an MLB team this offseason. Because of Kim’s success in Korea, this dream will most likely come to fruition.
Since Kim is an unrestricted international free agent, he does not have to go through the posting system that people saw the Korean power hitter Byung-ho Park undergo before landing with the Minnesota Twins. Kim is allowed to sign with any of the 30 MLB teams. One of them may be the Oakland Athletics.
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According to scouts, Kim has been one of the most consistent players offensively in the Korean Baseball Organization since he started playing professional ball at just 19 years old. He has a career batting average of .318 and he had a great 2015 season hitting .326/.438/.541. Even though Kim is good, he is up against a strong free agent market for left fielders this offseason, which could bring his price tag down a little.
When it comes to the Oakland Athletics, they are not in dire need of a left fielder. The A’s have Coco Crisp, Jake Smolinski and Sam Fuld who can all play left. All have their own strengths and weakness, but overall this position would be well covered. But, the Athletics have not had a true starting left fielder since Yoenis Cespedes and Kim could fill that roll.
The A’s would also benefit from Kim’s consistent and powerful bat in the lineup. After the great Billy Butler experiment flopped in 2015, Oakland may be looking for another slugger to replace him in the lineup. Kim has proven that he has a strong bat and he would be a tremendous step up from Butler because Kim can also be an everyday fielder and an effective base runner.
The Oakland Athletics have spent big in the international market before. Back in 2012, the A’s shocked the baseball community by signing then international free agent Cespedes to a four year, $36 million deal. This year, the Athletics also put in a competitive for Park, which make sense because at that time they needed an upgrade at first base. With Oakland also stating that they will be looking closely at the free agent market to boost their team for 2016, it is not too surprising to hear that they are considering Kim.
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In the end, Kim is a consistent enough player with a strong bat that he would be a great fit for the Oakland Athletics. However, the price tag will probably be the determining factor. Additionally, if the A’s are able to snag Kim, they will have to let some of their other outfielders go. This offseason will definitely be a balancing act for Oakland as they try to add players to their roster. Let’s just hope that Kim is one of those who makes the cut.