Huntington dismisses time in the minors for Kang
PITTSBURGH — Broach the idea of Jung Ho Kang possibly needing to spend some time in the minor leagues and Pirates general manager Neal Huntington emphatically dismisses it.
Kang has played sparingly in the early stages of the season in his role as a utility infielder.
He made his fourth start in Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park, filling in at shortstop for injured Jordy Mercer. Kang had just 14 plate appearances going into the game.
It would seem Kang would benefit from playing regularly for a couple of weeks at Class AAA Indianapolis in order to get used to the American style of play. He is the first native South Korean hitter to make the transition from the Korean Baseball Organization to the major leagues.
However, Huntington counters that Kang was a highly-decorated player in his native land.
Indeed. Kang won the KBO’s Most Valuable Player award last season when he hit .360 with 40 home runs in 117 games for the Nexen Tigers.
The Pirates signed him to a four-year, $11-million contract as a free agent in January and also paid Nexen a posting of fee of $5,002,015
“There are times that guys graduate the level from which they came,” Huntington said. “We have a ton of respect for what he did in Korea. We have a ton of respect for what our scouts saw. And, we have tremendous respect for what we’ve seen so far.”
The problem is that the Pirates haven’t been able to see much of Kang.
They already have a set infield with first baseman Pedro Alvarez, second baseman Neil Walker, third baseman Josh Harrison and Mercer. Furthermore, Sean Rodriguez is a proven utility infielder.
Yet, Huntington insists Kang is better off staying in the big leagues, even if it means nothing more than an occasional start or pinch-hitting appearance, at least for now.
“We want him to develop and become accustomed to the culture in our environment, in our city, in Pittsburgh,” Huntington said. “And, the best way for him to get used to hitting major-league pitching is to hit major-league pitching, albeit in a limited role.”
It will be interesting to see how Kang’s season unfolds. The one certainty is that he has the GM firmly in his corner.