Dodgers post nearly $26 million to chase South Korean lefty
The Los Angeles Dodgers have bid nearly $26 million for a chance to sign pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin.
The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization said Saturday that they had accepted a posting fee of $25.7 million for the 25-year-old left-hander. Major League Baseball later announced that the team paying the fee was the Dodgers.
“We are thrilled to have this exciting opportunity,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. “We have watched Ryu pitch for a long time, and he is another option to consider as we look to improve our team in 2013 and beyond.”
The Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers were also among the clubs thought to be interested in Ryu.
Los Angeles has 30 days to negotiate a contract with Ryu and his agent, Scott Boras.
Ryu is 98-52 with a 2.80 career ERA during seven seasons in South Korea. He pitched for his country on teams that won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and reached the championship game of the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
The $25.7 million fee will be paid to the Eagles only if Ryu signs with the major-league team.
The posting system brought Japanese stars Yu Darvish, Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka to the majors. Last winter, the Rangers gave Darvish a six-year contract guaranteeing him $56 million after submitting a record $51,703,411 posting bid to his former team, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. Nationals’ Johnson stays on: The Washington Nationals are bringing back Davey Johnson for one more season as their manager.
Johnson will return to his previous role as a special adviser to General Manager Mike Rizzo for the 2014 season.
Financial terms of the deal were not announced.
“I was never really worried about it,” Johnson said in a telephone interview from his home in Winter Park, Fla. “It just takes longer with the process here. I think we beat last year. I’m glad it’s over.”
Johnson, who will turn 70 in January, said after this past season that he would have considered retiring had the Nationals won the World Series. Instead, he cited “unfinished business” after a gutwrenching loss to the Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League Division Series.
“We made a lot of progress from 2011 to 2012,” Johnson said. “And I was real pleased with the guys. I think we can go further. And I think a lot of inexperience caught up to us a little bit. There’s still room for this club to grow. We’ve still got some young guys that have higher ceilings.”
Johnson said the decision on his retirement from managing isn’t dependent on the Nationals’ success next season.
Asked if this meant he needed to hold nothing back in order to end his managing career with a title, he chuckled: “As usual.”
In his first full season at the helm, he managed the team to 98 wins and the National League East title. He is one of three finalists for the NL Manager of the Year award, which will be announced Tuesday.