The Minnesota Twins will have the exclusive negotiating rights to sign Korean first baseman Byung Ho Park after they posted the highest bid in the posting process to his club, the Nexen Heroes, in the Korean Baseball Organization.
The Twins posted $12.85 million for the right to negotiate with Park. They have 30 days to work a deal with Park, and if they can't agree, Park will return to Nexen and the Twins will keep their money. It's a far cry from the $50 million-plus the Rangers posted for Yu Darvish before the 2012 season as posting rules have been adjusted since then.
The Rangers were reportedly interested in Park, and it was confirmed they did send scouts to watch him. They were expected to enter a bid on him, but it wasn't the winning one.
The 29-year-old hit .343/.436/.714 with 35 doubles, 53 homers and 146 RBIs in 140 games with the Heroes in 2015, but those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt as KBO is an offense-rich league where numbers are inflated. However, he obviously has some pop in his bat and can help an MLB team.
The Rangers currently have Mitch Moreland, coming off a career year, at first base and are looking to resign Mike Napoli to go with Prince Fielder, who can play first base but is primarily a designated hitter.
