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Shifting their attention away from middle infielders and to the hot corner, the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a minor-league contract with 29-year-old Korean third baseman Jae-Gyun Hwang, according to multiple sources.
The contract includes an invitation to spring training, a base salary of $1.5M should he crack the big league club, additional incentives, and several opt-out dates throughout the season if he plays in the minors. According to John Shea, Hwang could earn as much as $3.1M if he reaches a certain number of plate appearances.
According to the Yonhap News Agency, Hwang rejected “a sizable offer” from the Lotte Giants and reportedly drew interest from the KT Wiz, another KBO team, but showed a willingness to take less money and pursue a career in the major leagues.
That offer, according to Daniel Kim, was approximately $8M from his former team. Clearly, Hwang is banking on his success during spring training. Should he fail to crack the major-league roster, the possibility of finding another team in need of a third baseman or returning to Korea possibly remains open.
Hwang failed to receive any offers when he posted two winters ago, but generated a considerable amount of interest following a breakout season with the Lotte Giants. In 522 plate appearances, Hwang slashed .335/.394/.570, swiped 25 bases, and hit a career-high of 27 home runs in the hitter-friendly KBO.
Arguably most impressive of all, Hwang nearly sliced his strikeout total in half from 122 in 2015 to 66 in 2016.
The Giants expressed interest in Hwang shortly after the calendar turned over to 2017 and attended his showcase in Florida as well.
Currently, Eduardo Núñez and Conor Gillaspie third-base options on the club’s 40-man roster with the former likely to start the season over the latter. Hwang’s performance in spring training will play a part in dictating the future of San Francisco’s three options.
Should Hwang impress enough in Arizona to win out the starting spot, Núñez may once again slide into a super-sub role similar to his time with the Minnesota Twins. A hypothetical bench consisting of Núñez, Kelby Tomlinson, and Ehire Adrianza would present Bruce Bochy with many options.
Knocking Núñez off the perch won’t be an easy task for Hwang as Núñez finished last season with a slash line of .288/.325/.432 and career-highs in home runs (16), steals (40), and WAR (2.7).
Gillaspie had a fine season with San Francisco as well off the bench, posting the second-highest OPS (.747) and WAR (1.1) of his career.
The signing of Hwang has not ended San Francisco’s search for depth. According to Andrew Baggarly, the Giants are still on the lookout for an additional backup catcher because only Buster Posey and Trevor Brown are the only two catchers on the team’s 40-man roster.
Tim Federowicz may be an option considering the Giants have already signed him to a minor-league contracts, but veterans such as Nick Hundley and Dioner Navarro remain on the free agent market.
Sliding in a veteran to backup Posey would allow Brown to take more reps with the Sacramento River Cats rather than leaving him stagnant on the bench.