Could Japan be an option for Kim Kwang-hyun?

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Could Japan be an option for Kim Kwang-hyun?

Kim Kwang-hyun [AP/YONHAP]

Kim Kwang-hyun [AP/YONHAP]

 
With no end in sight for the ongoing major league lockout, free agent pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun may have to look further afield if he wants to secure a spot for next season before spring training starts.
 
Both Japanese and Korean media speculated last week that Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league could be an offer for Kim. U.S. media also picked up on the idea, although Kim himself has always maintained that he would ideally like to return to the majors.
 
But Japan could still be a good option for Kim. The longer the MLB lockout continues, the shorter the window for new signings will be — and the lockout may not end until after spring training, or even the regular season, was supposed to begin. The inevitable flurry of signings that will follow the end of the lockout could leave some of the mid-level players, like Kim, left out or settling for a worse deal than they might have wanted.
 
Japanese clubs, on the other hand, are free to sign whoever they want and some teams — the Yomiuri Giants, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, according to reports — should be able to afford the $4-million-or-above annual salary Kim is likely to receive.
 
Kim joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 2020 after a hugely successful career in the KBO that saw him named MVP at age 20 and win four Korean Series with the SK Wyverns. After two seasons in the majors, Kim has a solid MLB career 2.97 ERA with 10 wins and seven losses, solid numbers that suggest he'd be a reliable addition to any rotation.
 
Kim ended the 2021 season without an offer to return to the St. Louis Cardinals for the 2022 season, but he still remains a serious major league prospect. He could still be an option for the Cardinals, as well as a number of other clubs.
 
But as long as the major league remains in lockout, Kim is stuck without a contract, a club or any idea what his immediate future involves.
 
The majors have been in lockout since Dec. 2 last year, when the collective bargaining agreement between the players’ union and owners ended. Over the last month and a half, the two sides have failed to come close to reaching a new deal, with disagreements over issues like pay and the playoffs.
 
Pundits now predict that the dispute could impact spring training and potentially even the start of the 2022 season.
 
That leaves players like Kim in the dark as clubs are unable to sign new players until a new agreement is in place. Some big names have already decided to take the leap to other leagues — Yasiel Puig joining the Kiwoom Heroes, for example — rather than wait and gamble on a new MLB contract arriving in the spring.
 
But the majors still remain an option for Kim. The Korean left-hander has been suggested as a possible FA pick for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Minnesota Twins, the Cardinals and a number of other teams, but he’ll have no way of knowing if any of those are the real deal until lockout ends.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]
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