MLB.COM, the official website of the Major League Baseball (MLB), on the 12th (Korea time), selected 10 free agents last year who need to be verified. The media said, "There are many FA players last year who need to prove themselves in 2025. So are the 10 players who left a regret in their first year. It is time for those who entered the second year of their contract to prove that they had investment value or increase their value to try again for the next off-season FA."메이저놀이터
Lee Jung-hoo, who signed a six-year contract with San Francisco last year for a total of $113 million (166.7 billion won), was also listed among them. Lee Jung-hoo signed with San Francisco for $113 million, the highest amount of posting money in Korea, in December 2023. He was highly praised for his talent that has grown from the KBO League Rookie of the Year to the MVP, but his first year's performance did not meet expectations.
MLB.COM said, "The recruitment of Willy Adames (who signed a seven-year, $182 million FA) will help the lineup, but if San Francisco wants to crack the structure of the National League West, Lee Jung-hoo, who signed a large FA contract last year, should step up," adding, "Lee Jung-hoo signed with San Francisco after an outstanding career in the KBO League, but he missed most of the season due to a ruptured left shoulder joint after hitting the outfield fence on May 13."
Health is not all that Lee needs. "Lee displayed outstanding contact before the injury, recorded a swing and miss ratio of 9.6 percent and a strikeout ratio of 8.2 percent, and a square-up ratio of 37.1 percent," the media said. "However, he failed to achieve strong results. He only posted a batting average of 0.262 with six long balls (two homers) and an on-base plus slugging ratio of 0.641."
San Francisco, which failed to recruit players from outside in succession, also desperately needs Lee Jung-hoo. San Francisco, which failed to recruit Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto over the past few years, tried to recruit Coburn Burns again this winter, but failed to do so. Matt Chapman, who was caught through extended contracts, Adames, who signed as a free agent, and Lee Jung-hoo are the only ones who signed contracts worth more than 100 million U.S. dollars. Only when Lee keeps the lineup with them can the team's hope for fall baseball.