Park Hoy-jun of South Korea’s minor leagues becomes free agent. Park Hoy-jun, a South Korean minor league baseball player, has become a free agent, marking a turning point in a career that has included only a cup of coffee in Major League Baseball (MLB).
The Gwinnett Stripers, the Atlanta Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, announced Park’s free agency on their website on Wednesday.
The Stripers’ 27-year-old was one of 20 players to take that step this week. He has the option of remaining in the United States for another shot at MLB or returning home to play in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
Park Hoy-jun of South Korea’s minor leagues becomes free agent. Park, on the other hand, must wait two years before signing with a team in South Korea’s top league. To discourage a talent exodus, the KBO requires players who have signed their first professional contract overseas to sit out for 24 months before signing with a KBO club.
Others who spent time abroad, such as current SSG Landers outfielder and former Chicago Cubs prospect Ha Jae-hoon, had to wait two years before finding a place in the KBO.
Park signed with the New York Yankees out of high school in 2014 and will make his major league debut in July 2021.
Park Hoy-jun of South Korea’s minor leagues becomes free agent .Later that month, he was traded to the Pirates. In 2022, he appeared in 23 big league games for the Pirates over four stints, while spending the rest of the season in the minors.
In those 23 games last year, Park hit.216/.276/.373 with two home runs and six RBIs. In 2022, the versatile player saw action at second base, third base, shortstop, and right field.
Park was traded by the Pirates to the Boston Red Sox in November 2022, and the Red Sox sent him to the Braves in December. Park played in Triple-A for the entire 2023 season, batting.262/.385/.379 with six home runs, 42 RBIs, and 16 steals in 101 games.
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