Twins To Sign Korean Pitcher Hyeon-jong Yang
The Minnesota Twins are looking to address their pitching issues this offseason and while there are a handful of major league options, it appears that Minnesota has elected to go overseas. After winning the bidding for Korean pitcher Hyeon-jong Yang, the Twins are now closing in on a deal with the left hander.
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Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press is reporting that after the bidding closed on Friday, the Twins emerged victorious and now are operating within the window to sign Hyeon-jong Yang.
#MNTwins have won bidding for Korean LHP Hyeon-jong Yang, source tells @PioneerPress. Bidding ended Friday. Closing in on deal.
— Mike BerardinoNDI (@MikeBerardino) November 22, 2014
After noting earlier this offseason that he would be posted, it appeared only a matter of time before Hyeon-jong Yang found some suitors. Projecting as a number three starter in the big leagues, teams not in on the likes of Lester, Scherzer, and Shields seemed to be the most likely landing spots. It was believed that he could find himself heading to the Yankees with the rotational help they were going after.
The Twins have yet to close the deal with Hyeon-jong Yang but Berardino is making it sound as if it remains a matter of when more than anything.
Following in the footsteps of current Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, Yang won the Korean version of the Cy Young award this season. He didn’t show the same level of dominance as Ryu, but should be a solid option for the Twins. Ryu signed a six-year, $36 million contract with the Dodgers. Expect Yang to check in just below that.
The Korean league is definitely a hitters league and that is reflected in Yang’s 4.25 ERA. Berardino extrapolated the numbers however to make sense in the terms of MLB comparison.
KBO league ERA was 5.21 in 2014. So a 4.25 ERA is 18.4 pct lower.
— Mike BerardinoNDI (@MikeBerardino) November 22, 2014
MLB ERA was 3.74 in 2014.
Yang's ERA equates to 3.05 here. #MNTwins
Minnesota didn’t have any success the last time they went overseas for a player. If you remember Tsuyoshi Nishioka and the debacle that he was for the Twins at both second base and shortstop, you still have nightmares. An infielder that treated the baseball as if it were a hand grenade is not something you want to pay millions of dollars for.
Expect the deal to close soon and hopefully the Twins found themselves a solid middle of the rotation guy in Hyeon-jon Yang.
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