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Texas Rangers rumors: Yang Hyeon-Jong, a 26 year old Korean pitcher who won the equivalent of the Cy Young Award in the KBO in 2014, was posted for bidding earlier this offseason, and while earlier reports indicated that the Twins were the high bidder, it is now being reported in Korean that the high bidder was the Rangers:
Yang Hyeon-jong and Texas: MK Sports report says the Rangers beat out the Twins bid of $1.5 million, but doesn't say amount.
— Dan (@MyKBO) November 24, 2014
You can see his B-R page here -- he's a lefthander listed at 6'0", 172 lbs., and is thought to be a potential back-end starting pitcher in the majors.
A local paper in Minnesota asked American pitcher Andrew Albers, who pitched in the KBO last season, about Yang, and Albers said he threw in the low-90s and could be a mid- to back-rotation starter in the majors.
Presumably, if the Rangers win the bidding, they'll be looking to bring Yang over and plug him into the rotation for 2015. I would assume that that would not preclude them from continuing to be aggressive in the trade market, in trying to add another controllable starting pitcher.
UPDATE -- C.J. Nitkowski has tweeted that the Rangers have won the bidding, as well:
The Texas Rangers won the bid for Korean LHP Yang (Kia Tigers), was believed to be the Twins. Posting fee is around $1.5M. Kia may keep him.
— CJ Nitkowski (@CJNitkowski) November 24, 2014
