The Orioles have agreed to terms with Hyun-Soo Kim, a Korean outfielder who has spent the last 10 years with Doonsang of the Korean Baseball Organization. Kim signed a two-year, $7 million contract with the O’s that may put a nail in the coffin for their efforts to retain Chris Davis.
Kim, 27, had the best year of his career in 2015 for Doonsang, slashing .326/.438/.541and swatting a career-best 28 home runs. Kim also recorded 121 RBI and 11 stolen bases. 2015 was the third year in a row that Kim hit better than .300, and his average has climbed in each season.
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If the Orioles are banking on him to blunt the edge of losing Davis, however, they might want to continue searching for more options. Jung-ho Kang of the Pirates was able to translate his Korean success to MLB, and the Twins are hoping Byung-ho Park, a prolific slugger, can do the same. But Kim’s power has been fleeting; the last time he got to 20 home runs before 2015 was in 2010. In fact, the player Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan compared him to is former Oriole Nick Markakis.
The most intriguing part of Kim’s 2015 season wasn’t the big home run total, it was the jump in walks. Kim took 101 free passes last season, up from his career-high of 80, which he set in 2008 and matched in 2009. His on-base percentage jumped from .396 in 2014, to .438 in 2015.
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No one in Baltimore will suddenly forget about Davis’ 47 home runs last year, but they won’t miss his 200-plus strikeouts. If Kim’s OBP skills translate, they also won’t miss a ton in that category, and they’ll be paying him $193 million less.
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