'Grandson of the Wind' Lee Jung-hoo makes a splash with '9 attractive free agents'

MLB.com ranks Ohtani No. 4 on its list, calling his contact ability "outstanding" and "soft enough to land"
'4th-best free agent hitter,' Fox Sports' Olin
"Much more versatile than teammate Ha-Sung Kim"
San Francisco-bound prospect

Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) slugger Lee Jung-hoo is set to return to Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 2023 season. Lee is considered one of the "biggest names" in this year's free agency market by MLB.com, Sports Illustrated (SI), and other local media outlets.

Major League Baseball's (MLB) interest in the "grandson of the wind" Lee Jung-hoo, 25, has narrowed to a "single digit" number.

MLB.com released its list of the "nine most attractive free agents this season" on Aug. 8 and included Lee alongside Shohei Ohtani (29). "Lee could make a soft landing in the MLB with his excellent contact skills," MLB.com said. Sports Illustrated (SI) also ranked Lee as the third-best free agent outfielder. "He may not be as destructive, but he's a very good run producer," SI said, "and he's the youngest of the top outfield prospects on the market." Fox Sports, which ranked Lee as the No. 4 free agent outfielder, said, "Lee is viewed as a much more well-rounded prospect than fellow Kiwoom teammate Ha Sung Kim (28, San Diego)."

Kim crossed the Pacific Ocean for $28 million over four years, excluding a $5 million posting fee (about 6.6 billion won). The Athletic, a sports publication, estimates that Lee could get $56 million over four years. "Outside of Cody Bellinger, 28, no outfielder will touch more money than Lee this winter," Athletic wrote. Bellinger is a star player who was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 2017 and the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2019.

His likely destination is San Francisco. The Giants have made a concerted effort to sign Lee, with general manager Pete Putilla personally visiting the Kiwoom's home stadium, the Gocheok SkyDome in Seoul, on March 7. When MLB.com polled 58 baseball insiders to predict the final destination of a top free agent, the most common prediction was that Lee would join San Francisco. casinositerank Seattle and San Diego were also mentioned as possible destinations.

The local media in San Francisco also began to voice their opinion that Lee should not be missed. "NBC Sports Bay Area," which is owned by the San Francisco Giants, said, "Last year, we talked about Masataka Yoshida (30) as if we had him all to ourselves, but he was eventually stolen by Boston." "This time, an unexpected team could enter the race for Lee Jung-hoo. We need to stay on our toes." Yoshida describes Lee as "the role model I look up to the most. Yoshida, who joined Boston for five years and $90 million, is batting .289 with 15 home runs and 72 RBIs this year.

Lee, who joined Nexen (now Kiwoom) in 2017 after graduating from Seoul's Humungo University, has completed seven seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization, making him eligible to go overseas through the posting system. While the MLB has already started the StubHub League, Lee won't be able to officially apply for posting until after the Korean Series. "We don't expect anything to happen until after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 23," MLB Network said. gostopsite