Byung-ho Park, the most fearsome slugger in the Korean Baseball Organization, is coming to the United States, with the Red Sox reportedly interested. Boston hasn't been shy about splurging in the international market recently, so they are a team to watch in the Park sweepstakes.
Park will not come cheap, however. His agent Alan Nero, who also represents Pirates infielder and former KBO star Jung-ho Kang, thinks Park's bat is a $100 million piece of lumber.
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"Based on Kang's performance, there has been a lot more optimism regarding Park's potential," Nero said. "As I said last year with Kang, if he were Cuban (and not subject to the posting process), he would have got $100 million. The same is true of Park. Power pays."
While the posting process depresses player salary because the initial bids are exorbitant (max is $20 million), Park still figures to command major money. Park, 29, slashed .343/.436/.714 for Nexen last season, belting 53 home runs and recording 146 RBI. Park has swatted 105 home runs over the past two seasons, and hit better than .300.
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Park was a late bloomer in Korea, with his power explosion beginning in 2012. His rise is similar to that of Red Sox DH David Ortiz, who became a potential Hall of Famer after six mediocre seasons in Minnesota. The Red Sox doled out a seven-year, $72.5 million deal to Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo, and a $31.5 million signing bonus for Cuban teenage shortstop Yoan Moncada, and have reportedly scouted Park already.
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