Transactions across Major League Baseball have begun to pick up as the spring closes in, and no move has come as a bigger surprise this week than the Twins’ decision to designate first baseman/DH Byung Ho Park for assignment on Friday. After signing 36-year-old reliever Matt Belisle to a cheap contract, rebuilding Minnesota jettisoned Park from its 40-man roster just one year after doling out $24.85MM to land him. Before committing a four-year, $12MM deal to Park last winter, the Twins had to pay his previous team, the Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization, a $12.85MM posting fee to acquire his negotiating rights.
Despite the low-payroll Twins’ investment in Park under previous general manager Terry Ryan, the club’s new front office – led by chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine – clearly isn’t enamored of the 30-year-old. It’s easy to see why, perhaps, as Park certainly failed to live up to the hype accompanying him in his first year in the States. Park hit an underwhelming .191/.275/.409 with a 32.8 percent strikeout rate in 244 plate appearances with the Twins before they optioned him to Triple-A Rochester on July 1. While he was significantly more productive after the demotion, largely thanks to a .526 slugging percentage, Park still hit an ugly .224 and posted a sub-.300 on-base rate in 128 PAs with Rochester.
In fairness to Park, a wrist injury – for which he underwent season-ending surgery in late August – may have stunted him in 2016. Plus, as FanGraphs’ Travis Sawchik pointed out earlier this week in a piece urging the Twins not to give up on Park (they designated him two days later), he did show encouraging signs as a rookie despite his less-than-gaudy triple slash. Evidenced somewhat by his 12 home runs and .219 ISO (league average was .162) in limited major league action, Park packed a wallop last season. Moreover, only one player with at least 75 batted-ball events (Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, who laid waste to the league as a rookie) posted a greater percentage of barrels than Park, while just nine registered higher exit velocities on fly balls and line drives. At 97.2 mph, Park was right in line with David Ortiz and Giancarlo Stanton.
So, there could be notable upside present with Park, and although he’s currently in seven-day DFA limbo, it’s arguable that his price tag shouldn’t serve as a deterrent if another club is interested in picking him up. The expectation is that Park will clear waivers, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reported Friday, but his remaining contract is rather insignificant to most major league teams.
As one of Sawchik’s FanGraphs colleagues, Dave Cameron, wrote Friday, Park could make sense for any of the Rangers, Athletics and White Sox. All three have questions at first base and/or DH, as do the frugal Rays, who have been on the lookout for a right-handed bat throughout the offseason and continue to search for one in the wake of re-signing lefty-swinging first baseman Logan Morrison. Of course, any of those teams could simply sign Chris Carter, who co-led the National League with 41 home runs last season, or even 34-homer man Mike Napoli if they’re willing to spend more. However, controlling Park through the 2019 season at an ultra-affordable $9.25MM might make him a more enticing option for someone hoping his tendency to hit the ball hard leads to a statistical breakout. If not, Park will head into spring training as one of the Twins’ non-roster invitees and try to get back on their 40-man at some point this year. Is that what ought to happen, though, or is Park currently worthy of a roster spot elsewhere?
(Poll link for Trade Rumors App users)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I think he could be traded but the Twins will have to kick in a few bucks
Will the Twins still have to pay a portion or all of Park’s salaries that they committed to him over the next few years?
Yes.
If he’s claimed in the next few days, then the new team would pay for the remaining $9 million on his contract. If he is traded, then that’s TBD. The Twins will have to swallow the posting fee and last year’s salary at a minimum. Seems like a costly mistake in their scouting or long-term planning. And it seems especially clumsy that this whole mess came about when they sign a veteran middle reliever.
They’ve had a heaping ton of top prospects under perform, so this is no surprise that Falvey is getting the ship in order immediately. Clearly talent assessment is an opportunity. I applaud ownership’s support allowing him to cut bait now as opposed to after this season.
Is the B silent as ive heard a couple guys on mlb network pronounce his name differently?
No it’s not
The White Sox need a power hitting DH. Do trade offers take priority over waiver claims? In other words, if the Sox offered two prospects that interested Minnesota could Minnesota accept that offer over a claim from the team ahead of the Sox in the waiver process?
Nope. He would have to clear waivers first.
The answer to your question is that no a trade wouldn’t take priority over waiver priority; but that only applies once he’s put on waivers. He’s only been designated for assignment so far. While Minnesota theoretically could have immediately put him on waivers, they probably didn’t. They have 7 days to work out a trade or put him on waivers, so they are likely working through trade possibilities before waiving him. That would allow a team to trade for him after he was DFA’ed but before he hit waivers.
Pittsburgh should try him out as a platoon at first
The Bucs did bid on him initially (fell just short), but I think it’s unlikely given the number of internal options–Bell, Jaso, Freese all on the roster, and a couple more guys in the minors
The Pirates could try and trade Jaso for Park. Offsets money and gives the Pirates a RH bat they could platoon with Bell and have Freese ready for 3B if Kang is punished or if he struggles
I agree. DFA Jaso and give Park a try. If he plays well, the Pirates could always give Bell more games in RF. Bucs have no power.
Well the problem with having Bell play in RF is that you would have to trade Cutch and keep Meadows in Triple A. I think the Pirates should give Park a chance and maybe if he plays well flip him with Cutch when Meadows is ready
The next David Ortiz…
It could happen… lol
Someone needs to give him a shot.
I think he got his shots before he came to America. Different microorganisms, you know….
I was gonna post the same thing. All he needs is a new name and Big Papi-san
He’ll clear and be outrighted.
Surprised with the current poll results. I was thinking he would clear waivers, but the majority of the readers on this site think otherwise.
Because the Fangraphs guys told everyone what to think. There is no market for this kind of player right now. He’ll pass through waivers easily.
What does this even mean?
If all you looked at were his numbers, you’d put in a claim. If you actually took the second step and looked at film on him, you’d pass. There’s nothing wrong with advanced statistics, but they’re really just one tool. They help to narrow down who has a better chance of being successful, but they’re no guarantee and more work needs to be done beyond that when making a roster decision. From a statistical stand point this guy would draw a look, but then when you saw him whiff at curve balls in batting practice, you’d move on.
my q would be how he’s acclamating to America, does he speak english, eat hot dogs or just kim chee? In the later case he’d fit much better in Seattle (Japanese owners and pretty big Asian environment around the ballpark) then Texas lol
Brewers have baseballs lowest payroll, Eric Thames slotted in at 1B and the rather unproven Shaw kid (from the BoSox in the Thornburg deal). There are some junk/replaceable bullpen arms on their 40 man…
If I was the Gm for the New York Yankees boston baltimore Toronto Tampa bay seattle los Angeles angels Houston Oakland Texas Chicago white Sox Cleveland Detroit Kansas city Atlanta Miami Washington new York Mets Philadelphia Chicago cubs Cincinnati Milwaukee Pittsburgh St Louis Arizona los Angeles Dodgers Colorado san Francisco and San Diego I would take a look at bringing him in on upside alone. He’s got a lot of talent. He reminds me of a combination between Chan ho park and byung hun kim in their prime.
Think more Pedro Cerrano. Straight ball he hit very much. Curve ball his bat’s afraid.
Yup, those are all the teams
yup, you just compared him two korean pitchers….why not throw out some more korean names?
Park is not a major league option imo, and at 30 he’s hardly a minor league option either! He may catch on with a scrappy team (ie the ChiSox, Rays or Mariners) but not a contendor. The Rangers do not want another over priced Park (Byung Ho as opposed to Chan Ho).
Based on what I’ve heard about this guy- Healthy, eager, even desperate- I’ll give him 50-50 chance