In an era of baseball when right-handed power is at a premium, South Korean slugger Byung-ho Park figured to draw a lot of attention, with the Minnesota Twins winning the bidding rights to negotiate with the 29-year-old.
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Park Reportedly Traveling to Minnesota
Saturday, Nov. 28
According to a report from Naver Sports, per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press, Park is flying to America on Sunday with a stop in Chicago before traveling to the Twin Cities.
"From there, Park will head to the Twin Cities, where he is scheduled to meet with Twins officials and undergo a physical exam," according to Berardino's translation of the report. "If 'negotiations proceed smoothly,' the report states, Park could be introduced as the newest member of the Twins next week."
Berardino did note that it is "unclear" if this means that Park has agreed to terms on a deal with the Twins or at least made progress on a contract.
Twins general manager Terry Ryan said after the team won the bidding for Park with a $12.8 million posting fee that he was "hopeful of coming to an agreement," per Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.
Park has been one of the premier sluggers in Korean baseball for years, posting a .343/.436/.714 line in 140 games last year with the Nexen Heroes. It's not a one-to-one transition from the Korean Baseball Organization to Major League Baseball, but the Twins saw enough potential in the bat to put up a lot of money just to speak with him.
The Twins do have a logjam at first base and designated hitter right now, with Joe Mauer, Miguel Sano and Trevor Plouffe sharing time at the positions.
Park's presence would create more chaos, though teams are never going to shy away from adding a bat and will worry about where to put someone when the problem arises.
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