The New York Yankees, the most prestigious team in the major leagues, who swept up superstars with their enormous capital and were nicknamed the “Evil Empire,” are having a shabby season this year. They are in last place in the American League East Division, which is comprised of powerful teams.
Although they have achieved a winning percentage of over .500 with 73 wins and 72 losses (.503), the game gap with Baltimore, the leader in the district, has widened to a whopping 18.5 games. Mathematically, the probability of winning the Eastern District is already 0%. There are also 7 games in the wild card race. Considering the remaining games, unless a miracle occurs, we will fail to advance to the postseason.
Players who spent a lot of money, such as Giancarlo Stanton and Carlos Rodon, all struggled due to injuries and poor performance. It was also significant that Aaron Judge, who signed a nine-year contract worth $360 million after the end of last season, was sidelined longer than expected due to an unexpected injury. Now, the Yankees are expected to make extensive recruitment this offseason to restore their pride.
I am especially interested in the outfield. Aaron Hicks, who was once the team’s best outfield prospect, was released after poor performance, and the prospects who were expected to take over are also struggling. In addition, as the possibility of advancing to the postseason decreased, even Harrison Bader, who played as the starting center fielder, announced waiver. The intention is to create a new outfield structure centered around Aaron Judge.
However, the concern is that there are not many properties for sale this offseason. Cody Bellinger (Chicago Cubs), who is chosen as the biggest player, is risky. This MVP-experienced player, who is showing off his peak performance this year, has a record of poor performance in the previous two seasons. In other words, we don’t know whether this year’s performance is a real rebound or a temporary 메이저놀이터rebound.메이저놀이터Nevertheless, Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, is determined to receive more than $200 million. Most teams, including the Yankees, are worth hesitating.
There is also the possibility of Mike Trout (LA Angels) being traded, but Trout has also been struggling with frequent injuries in recent years. Trout is limited to playing in 82 games this year, and his adjusted OPS is 130. An adjusted OPS of 130 is great, but it falls far short of his career average (173). Another obstacle is that now that you are in your mid-30s, you still have a lot of annual salary left until 2030. The Yankees, who already have many high-paid players, cannot afford it if Trout also declines.
So the next player recommended by local media is Lee Jeong-hoo (25, Kiwoom). Lee Jeong-hoo, who is currently resting due to an unexpected ankle injury, plans to challenge for the major league through the posting system (private competitive bidding) at the end of this season. Although the injury this year is unfortunate, the Major League’s evaluation of Lee Jeong-hoo is almost over. His skills and character have already been sufficiently confirmed. The question is how much you bet.
The fact that there are not many left-handed hitting outfielders with high batting averages on the market is likely to be advantageous. Although Lee Jeong-hoo has no major league experience, Kiwoom has experienced success with senior fielders Kang Jeong-ho and Kim Ha-seong. Lee Jeong-hoo is a player that major league clubs have observed for longer than these players, and is evaluated to be sufficiently competitive, at least in batting. Choo Shin-soo (41, SSG), who played in the major league for 16 years, also applauded, saying, “At least the batting works in the major league.”
While the region’s largest media outlet, the New York Post, has already mentioned Jeong-hoo Lee as one of the Yankees’ off-season listings, ‘The Athletic’, a North American sports media outlet and a subsidiary of the ‘New York Times’, also announced on the 13th (Korean time) that Jeong-hoo Lee is an option. I went forward and recommended that this could be done. Regardless of the likelihood of success, it is clear that the New York media is continuing to show interest.
‘The Athletic’ said, ‘Korean star Lee Jeong-hoo is expected to be posted this offseason,’ and ‘The 25-year-old was the KBO League MVP last year, and recorded an OPS of 0.863 in 85 games this season before fracturing his left ankle. did.
Lee Jung-hoo’s total price is expected to be lower than Bellinger’s, and there is no player that needs to be given away like in the Trout trade. Although the total amount is expected to be a considerable amount, the risk is less than that of the two players. Moreover, Lee Jeong-hoo turns 26 next year. It has the advantage of being able to use all of its prime.
In fact, the Yankees are known as a representative team that has watched Lee Jung-hoo for a long time. And there is a great thirst for high-quality outfielders. By eliminating quite a few players, there was some room in the payroll. The Yankees’ team salary this year is approximately $278.8 million. The guaranteed annual salary for next year is approximately $189 million. Although there are still many guaranteed salaries after 2025 at the top of the league, there is still room to buy a Class A outfielder. It is interesting to see whether that power will be directed to Lee Jeong-hoo.