Baseball Twitter reacts to Korean superstar Lee Jung-hoo likely joining MLB in 2023: "This guy’s a stud" "The bidding for him is going to be wild"

Reigning Korean Baseball Organization MVP Lee Jung-hoo will be posted following the 2023 season, giving MLB teams the opportunity to bid for the right to sign him. Lee, 24, hit .349 with 23 home runs for the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO last season.

“After some internal discussions, we agreed to respect the player’s intent to play in Major League Baseball,” the team said in a statement regarding Lee Jung-hoo's prospective move to MLB after this season. “We will provide whatever support necessary for the player.”

Lee Jung-hoo won the KBO Rookie of the Year award as an 18-year-old in 2017. He played 144 games that season and hit .324 while walking in 9.6 percent of his plate appearances and striking out in just 10.8 percent of the times he was in the batter's box. Those types of numbers would translate well to MLB.

Any club signing Lee Jung-hoo would owe a fee to the Heroes under the MLB/KBO posting agreement, in addition to the amount owed to the player in the contract.

The amount owed to the Heroes is tied to the size of between whichever team signs Lee and the player himself. The Heroes will be owed 20 percent of the contract’s first $25 million, 17.5 percent of the next $25 million and 15 percent of any dollars thereafter. Any contract incentives and/or bonuses are also subject to the posting system once they become guaranteed to the player.

Lee said in a statement about possibly coming to MLB:

"The team has been giving me so much support since I was a rookie, and I was able to start dreaming about playing overseas because the team has helped me grow as a player. First and foremost, I will concentrate on the upcoming season. I will put aside personal ambitions and try to help the team win the Korean Series.”

Lee Jung-hoo would bring some pop to MLB

Outfielder Lee Jung-Hoo of Kiwoom Heroes rounds the bases.

Lee hit just 14 home runs over his first three seasons with the Heroes, but then 15 homers with 101 RBIs in 2020. Those numbers slipped a bit in 2021, but bounced back in 2022, when he hit 23 homers with 113 RBIs. Lee has never hit below the .324 average he logged in his rookie season. He hit .360 in 2021, which is the highest batting average of his career.