Kim Hyun-soo boldly rejects team’s offer of demotion to Minor League

Baltimore Orioles' Korean outfielder Kim Hyun-soo (28) exercised his right to reject his team’s offer to send him to the Minor League after all.

“Kim Hyun-soo officially rejected his team’s offer to send him to the Minor League and expressed his intention to take on challenge in the Major League as stipulated in his contract,” Kim’s management agency Leeco Sports Agency said on Friday. “Kim Hyun-soo hopes that the existing contract be implemented faithfully, and that he be given a fair opportunity to play in games and to continue his athletic career at Baltimore.”

Even though Kim has expressed his wish to stay, he may not be able to stay put at the Orioles. His team could opt to release him by paying 7 million U.S. dollars instead. As was the case for Yoon Seok-min (30), if there is any Korean or Japanese pro baseball team that offers to recruit Kim, he could be forced to separate from Baltimore even for a smaller amount.

If Kim gets released from the team, it is still uncertain whether there will be any other Major League team that will seek to recruit him. However, chances are high his decision could give the impression that he does not have strong will to continue to take on challenge at the Major League. NBC Sports in the U.S. reported that Kim Hyun-soo might have preferred 7 million dollars in his pocket and an air ticket to return to home, rather than life as a Minor League player, which is unknown when will end.

“At present, Baltimore has arguably concluded that its recruitment of Kim Hyun-soo proved to be a failure, and is developing an exit strategy. Kim had very few hits that he hit properly during the exhibitions. He also disappointed his team in defense many times as well,” a baseball commentator said. “I think it would have been a right choice if he requested ‘if you say so, I will try with other team, and please release me.”

The fact Joey RicKard (25), whom Baltimore recruited through "Rule 5 Draft," displayed impressive batting performance to post a batting average of 0.390 at exhibition games also affected the team’s decision. After securing a player through the designation system among Minor League players in other teams, teams should include the player in question in its 25-member roster throughout the year for the next year. If the team excludes the player from the roster, another team could take away the player immediately. The system is an apparatus that guarantees his affiliation with the Major League team, and which is more powerful than a player’s right to reject the Minor League.

황규인 기자