Twins win bidding for Korean slugger Byung-ho Park

It is not yet known what major league team submitted the winning bid but it is expected to be announced in the coming week.

Park, 29, would still require a contract, so the almost $13 million reported price tag is just the figure paid to his team in Korea.

Park’s team in the Korean Baseball Organization, the Nexen Heroes, accepted the $12.85 million bid on Friday, per both Naver Sports and Jae Ho Kim of MK Sports.

With the Twins pushing for current designated hitter Miguel Sano to play left field, the club could use Park at DH and first base on days that Joe Mauer needs off. The period to bid for negotiation with Park ended on Friday and the Heroes had until Monday to decide if they wanted to accept or reject the bid.

The Pirates did not place the winning bid on Korean first baseman Byung-ho Park, according to an industry source. Park hit.343/.436/.714 with 53 home runs in 2014. He hit 52 home runs in 2014, and over the last four seasons in the KBO has averaged 43 home runs and 123 RBI.

We can already see the Kang effect here, as Park’s posting fee was more than double what Kang fetched ($5 M). “As I said previous year with Kang, if he were Cuban (and not subject to the posting process), he would have gotten $100 million”. The bid-winning Major League Baseball team would not have to pay anything to the Heroes if Park doesn’t sign.