Kang Jung-ho surpasses Major Leaguers’ average pay, ranks 8th in team

A total of 16 million U.S. dollars for four years, or an average annual pay of 4 million dollars.

This is the compensation that Kang Jung-ho, 28, of the Nexen Heroes will be paid by the Pittsburgh Pirates of the U.S. Major League Baseball. ESPN reported on Tuesday (Korea time), “The Pittsburgh Pirates reached an agreement Monday with South Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang on a four-year deal worth approximately $16 million. The deal, which is pending a physical, also has an option for a fifth year. He has option in the fifth year.” If Kang passes a physical test, which he will likely undergo on Friday or Saturday after departing from Korea on Wednesday, he will become the first batter to directly move to the Major League from a Korean pro league. Kang’s annual pay at Nexen was 420 million won (390,000 dollars) last year.

Pittsburgh suggested the hefty 16 million dollars to Kang, because it highly values the Korean batter. The bid price of 5,002,015 dollars Pittsburgh submitted to the posting system (closed competitive bid) was smaller than 5,329,000 dollars that Minnesota bid for Tsuyoshi Nishioka (currently Hanshin Tigers) of the Japanese team Chiba Lotte in 2010, but Kang is to be paid more in annual pay than Nishioka. Nishioka had signed a three-year 9.25 million-dollar contract (average of 3.08 million dollars).

The 4 million dollar that Kang will be paid surpasses the average annual salary of the Major League players. The Major Leaguers’ average pay amounted to 3,818,923 dollars last year. Kang’s salary is four times the minimum pay (507,500 dollars) of the players in the big league this year. If Pittsburgh does not recruit additional players, Kang will likely rank eighth in annual pay overall in his team. Currently, Francisco Liriano, a pitcher who signed a free agent contract in December last year, is the best-paid player with a total of 39 million dollars for three years (annual average of 13 million dollars) in the team.

Pittsburgh has spent a total of 21,002,015 dollars, including the bid price, on Kang. It is the second largest in pay ever for an Asian batter after outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (New York Yankees), who signed a deal with the Seattle Mariners for 27,723,000 dollars (bid price 13,125,000 dollars + 14,088,000 dollars) in 2001. Pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers was valued at 61.73 million dollars (bid price of 25.73 million dollars + 36 million dollars for six years).