Giants snare South Korean slugger after missing out on Ohtani

SAN FRANCISCO — Slugging South Korean outfielder Lee Junghoo and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a $113 million, six-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced. Lee, a South Korean MVP and the son of a former MVP, can terminate the deal after four years and $72 million to become a free agent again.

He will fill a huge need in center field for the Giants, who have missed the playoffs the past two seasons after winning a franchise-record 107 games and the National League West in 2021.

San Francisco struck the deal after failing to sign two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who reached a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi declined to address the Lee agreement on Tuesday since the deal was not final. Instead, he discussed the negotiations with Ohtani and said the club had made a final offer very similar to the deal with the Dodgers.

"The proposal that was made was very comparable if not identical to what he wound up agreeing to," Zaidi said during a video call. "We offered what would have been the biggest contract in major-league history. I'm guessing we weren't the only team that did that. But wanted to show our aggressiveness and interest right out of the gate."

San Francisco missed out last offseason on Aaron Judge and then decided not to finalize a $350 million, 13-year agreement with shortstop Carlos Correa after concerns arose from his physical dating to a 2014 surgery on his right leg.

The 25-year-old Lee was posted by South Korea's Kiwoom Heroes on Dec 4, and if he stays for the entire contract, the Giants would owe the Heroes an $18.825 million posting fee. If he opts out, that fee would be reduced to $12.675 million.

San Francisco also would owe an additional fee of 15 percent for any earned bonuses or escalators.

When new Giants manager Bob Melvin was hired in October, he mentioned how he would help be a recruiter of players from Asia, given he has coached many greats — including most recently Kim Ha-seong in San Diego.

Lee batted .318 with six homers and 48 RBIs in 86 games this year but broke his left ankle during a game against the Lotte Giants on July 22 and was sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Last year, he hit .349 with career bests of 23 home runs and 113 RBIs in 142 games. He was voted rookie of the year in 2017 and MVP in 2022.

Lee also hit .429 with two doubles and five RBIs for South Korea in this year's World Baseball Classic. He batted .241 with three doubles, one homer and three RBIs at the Tokyo Olympics.

Lee has a .340 career average with 65 homers and 515 RBIs for the Heroes, who were renamed from Nexen to Kiwoon ahead of the 2019 season.

His father, Lee Jong-beom, was MVP in 1994 and played in Japan from 1998 to 2001.

Agencies via Xinhua