“Bob Melvin has had a strong relationship with Kim over the past two seasons in San Diego, and Lee Jung-hoo is a former teammate and close friend of Kim’s at the Kiwoom Heroes.”
American sports media outlet The Athletic made an interesting prediction. With the San Francisco Giants showing strong interest in center fielder Lee Jeong-hoo (25), who is challenging for a major league spot in the U.S. Major League Baseball this winter in the postseason, there is a possibility that San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin (61) could become the new manager. Melvin will take over as San Diego’s new manager ahead of the 2022 season, and he is a coach who has provided Kim with consistent opportunities to develop into a dominant infielder.
The Athletic reported on Tuesday (June 20), “San Francisco has terminated manager Gabe Kapler with one year remaining on his contract. The Giants are conducting managerial interviews with internal coaches, but continue to be interested in bringing in a new manager from outside the organization to shake things up. Melvin has been mentioned as a potential outside candidate, according to the report.
San Diego general manager A.J. Preller said on Friday that both he and Melvin will stay on through next season. However, rumors of a rift between Preller and Melvin continue to surface. One San Diego player described their relationship as “irreconcilable”.
If Melvin decides to interview for the San Francisco managerial job and is selected as the new San Francisco manager, it will have a positive impact on Lee Jung-hoo.
The Athletic said, “Melvin has had a strong relationship with Kim over the past two seasons in San Diego. He and Lee were teammates and best friends during their time with the Kiwoom Heroes. Kim struggled in his rookie season with San Diego in 2021 when he was 25 years old, playing 117 games. However, he has blossomed in his last two seasons with Melvin. Melvin turned him into a starter. In 2022, he played 150 games, and this year, he played 152 games and posted a 5.8 wins above replacement (bWAR), which ranked eighth among all National League players.
Lee is reportedly looking for a team where he can play as a starter in the major leagues. Melvin is the man who made Kim Ha-seong a top-notch starting infielder in the big leagues based on merit, so the Athletic believes there will be a positive synergy if he and Lee join forces in San Francisco.
According to a source familiar with the Korean market, Lee is looking for a team that will be patient with his potential slumps (adjusting to the major leagues) while allowing him to play as a starter. Lee is a 25-year-old center fielder with an impressive .340 career batting average. He is considered one of the best players in the KBO. Lee had his best season in 2022, when he hit a career-high 23 home runs while batting .349 with 66 strikeouts. He struck out only 32 times in 553 at-bats, a ridiculously low number.짱구카지노 주소
He also pointed out that San Francisco manager Pete Putteler recently visited Gocheok Sky Dome to observe Lee. The Athletic reported, “Lee returned briefly on July 11 to greet home fans after being sidelined with an ankle injury in July. He was a prominent spectator applauding from the stands.
One of the agents who represents KBO players told The Athletic after observing the scene, “Honestly, I don’t think he would have come to watch and scout one at-bat. But it must have touched his heart. Lee is a superstar in South Korea. Any team that gets the chance to sign him will have to treat him like a superstar.” U.S. media outlets have reported that Lee could get as much as $100 million.
San Francisco has been working diligently to make up for last winter’s free agency disaster. Ferteller traveled to South Korea to get up close and personal with Lee, and president Farhan Zaidi recently traveled to the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan, to watch Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto will be eligible for the major leagues at the end of this season, and San Francisco is actively pursuing him.
The Athletic writes, “Zaidi is entering the final year of his contract with San Francisco and is reeling after failing to land big fish like Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) and Carlos Correa (Minnesota Twins) last offseason. Correa’s 13-year, $350 million deal fell apart after he failed a medical test, and the team is hoping to make up for it by signing Lee and Yamamoto unconditionally this year.