St. Louis Cardinals sign left-handed pitcher Kwang-hyun Kim. So who is this guy?
In the midst of a winter which has seen the team operate as the least active in Major League Baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals made their first major addition for the 2020 season.
Korean left-handed pitcher Kwang-hyun “KK” Kim was introduced at a press conference at Busch Stadium on Tuesday afternoon after signing a two-year contract.
“We had robust scouting reports on him,” Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said. “We had a lot of analytical support that backed up the success he was having over in the KBO. And we felt that when you looked at our needs, especially when you think about the left side of our pitching, it made a lot of sense to pursue this.”
“A very big honor to join the St. Louis Cardinals players,” said Jerry Kim, Kwang-hyung’s Korean representative, on his behalf. “Very happy with being here. Today we looked around all this stadium area. He told me every single step, whenever he was walking, he felt the big history. He felt a big honor to join, being a St. Louis Cardinals player.”
Kim, 31, has pitched his entire professional career for SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization, Korea’s top league. He made 30 starts in 2019, winning 17 games and posting a 2.51 ERA.
“A lot of Korean St. Louis baseball fans like the St. Louis Cardinals because they are the best team in the National League,” Jerry Kim said. “That’s why, when he was a young boy, when he just started baseball, some day he wanted to be a St. Louis Cardinals member.
“In this case, when he got the offer from some teams and he made a decision, he really wanted to play in St. Louis.”
Despite having never before pitched in the United States, Kim’s statistical profile strongly resembles that of Miles Mikolas, who the Cardinals signed from Japan before the 2018 season.
After missing the 2017 season, while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Kim returned to KBO with a new-found control that eluded him in the earlier years of his career. He walked only 38 batters in 190 1⁄3 innings pitched last season while striking out 180.
“A good low-walk rate is important,” Mozeliak said. “High strikeout rate helps. A good ground ball rate is something that can be telling. The combination of what he was doing the last few years, obviously we felt confident that coming over here he could have success. Time will tell, but you look at the success he had over there, and historically that will play here.”
Though pitching almost exclusively as a starter in Korea, Kim offers versatility that would allow the Cardinals to use him out of the bullpen should Carlos Martinez be able to reclaim his spot in the rotation.
Mozeliak said Tuesday that he feels as though the Cardinals now have sufficient innings coverage on the roster for their needs going into 2020.
“He really wants to be a starting pitcher, but he respects the St. Louis Cardinals system,” Jerry Kim said. “He’s going to compete this spring training, and he respects their decision. He’s going to do his best to be a starting pitcher, but he’s going to respect their opinion, their decision.”
As a starting pitcher in the National League, Kim will have to do one thing he said that he hasn’t done in 13 years — hit. His agent pointed out that he was one of the three best hitters in his local area in high school, but Kim laughed and said he planned on “lots of practice” to get acclimated with the bat.
As part of the player agreement between MLB and the KBO, the Cardinals will be required to transmit a posting fee to SK Wyverns in exchange for their release of Kim. A deal of that size will require the Cardinals to post a fee of 20% of the total contract value, which USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported to be worth $4 million per season with an additional $1.5 million per season in incentives.
Kim once before attempted to leave Korea for the US, as the San Diego Padres posted a fee to discuss a contract with him in 2016. The sides were unable to reach a deal, and Kim remained in Korea. He will become the second Korean-born and trained pitcher to play for the Cardinals, following countryman Seung-hwan Oh, who Mozeliak said contributed to the Cardinals’ recruiting efforts.
“(Oh) recommended,” Jerry Kim said. “He introduced the St. Louis Cardinals. When (Kim)’s back to Korea, he’s going to meet him again and ask in more detail.”
Kim and his family arrived in St. Louis for the first time on Monday evening following nearly 24 hours of travel from Korea. He arrived to the press conference dressed in a white turtleneck sweater and a brown overcoat; Seoul, he said, has similar weather sometimes, but he was a little taken aback by the snow.
He was also taken aback by the size of the stadium and the warmth of the welcome from the Cardinals. Jerry Kim showed members of the media a photo of the stadium’s video board welcoming Kim and displaying a picture of him alongside his wife, Sang Hee, daughter, Minjoo, and son, Minjae.
“The city is not huge but he feels very comfortable,” Jerry Kim said. “The stadium is very great. He feels great. Bigger than he expected. He watched the internet and some kind of pictures, but bigger than he expected. He has a very strong message to St. Louis.”
With that, Kim held aloft a small, handmade sign crafted in his own words.
“Hello STL.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 5:23 PM.
