LATEST: According to an AP source, South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee has secured a six-year deal worth $113 million with the Giants.
A person familiar with the negotiations revealed to The Associated Press that South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee has agreed to a six-year contract with the San Francisco Giants, valued at $113 million. The individual, who spoke on the condition of anonymity on Tuesday, as the agreement had not been officially announced, shared that Lee, a former South Korean MVP and the son of another MVP, retains the option to terminate the deal after four years and $72 million, allowing him to become a free agent once again.
The Giants finalized this agreement after their unsuccessful attempt to sign two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who went on to secure a record-setting $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lee, 25, was posted by South Korea’s Kiwoom Heroes on December 4. If he completes the entire contract, the Giants would be obligated to pay the Heroes an $18,825,000 posting fee. In the event Lee decides to opt out, the posting fee would be reduced to $12,675,000. Additionally, San Francisco would be liable for an extra fee of 15% related to any earned bonuses or escalators.
In the shortened 2023 season, Lee posted a .318 batting average with six home runs and 48 RBIs across 86 games before his campaign was interrupted by a left ankle fracture on July 22 during a game against the Lotte Giants. Notably, Lee achieved a batting average of .349 in the 2022 season, a year in which he set personal records with 23 home runs and 113 RBIs in 142 games. His outstanding performance earned him the Rookie of the Year title in 2017 and the MVP title in 2022.
Representing South Korea in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Lee demonstrated his prowess by batting .429 with two doubles and five RBIs, although South Korea failed to progress beyond the first-round group stage. In the 2021 Olympics, Lee recorded a .241 batting average with three doubles, one home run, and three RBIs. South Korea faced defeat against the United States in the semifinals and lost to the Dominican Republic, settling for the bronze medal.
Over his career with the Heroes, formerly known as Nexen and renamed Kiwoom in 2019, Lee maintains an impressive .340 batting average with 65 home runs and 515 RBIs. His father, Jong Beom Lee, a former MVP in 1994, played for Japan’s Chunichi Dragons in the Central League from 1998 to 2001.
