KBO infielder Sung-Mun Song could be available for MLB teams this winter. A few weeks ago, he told Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap News Agency that he will ask the Kiwoom Heroes to post him after the current season. Yoo notes that MLB teams began scouting him last year. Yoo also published another piece for Yonhap this week wherein Mark Pieper of ISE Baseball, Song’s agency, spoke about the player’s desire to make the move this winter.
Song, 29, is characterized by Yoo as a late bloomer. It’s noted that he didn’t become an everyday player until 2019. He then had his career sidetracked by his military service, which led to him missing the entire 2020 season and part of 2021 as well.
He has since seen a huge uptick in his performance in recent years. Over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he had a combined .253/.311/.366 line and a 85 wRC+. Since the start of 2024, he has a .330/.402/.528 batting line, production which translates to a 146 wRC+. He hit 19 home runs last year and is already up to 24 this season. He also stole 22 bases last year and is at 21 so far in 2025. Defensively, he is primarily a third baseman but has also spend significant time at second and first base.
Song and his representatives feel he is ready for a move to North America. The Heroes don’t have to post him and have actually signed him to a six-year extension, but Yoo notes they have also said they will support him if he wants to make the move to Major League Baseball. Assuming they do eventually post him at some point this winter, that will open up a 30-day posting window where Song can negotiate will all 30 MLB clubs.
If he signs with one of them, the Heroes will be entitled to a posting fee, the size of which would depend upon the specifics of his MLB deal. The fee will be calculated as 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, plus 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter. Additional earnings, such as performance bonuses/incentives or salaries on option years fall under that purview once they are unlocked or exercised.
His market will naturally be dependent on whether or not clubs think he can have success in North American ball. His most recent results are impressive but the track record of success is still fairly short. As a point of comparison, Ha-Seong Kim hit 19 home runs in 2019 and then 30 in 2020, his final two KBO seasons. He had a combined .307/.393/.507 line and 142 wRC+ over those two seasons. That’s fairly similar to Song’s two recent campaigns but Kim also slashed .290/.364/.488 for a 112 wRC+ over the 2015-2018 campaigns. He therefore had a longer track record of decent production and also provided more defensive value as a plus shortstop. Yoo notes that Kim, who also played for the Heroes, had a conversation with Song and convinced him to try the leap to MLB.
Kim secured a four-year, $28MM deal from the Padres ahead of the 2021 season. Arguably, he was a better player at that time compared to Song now, though a few years of inflation could work in Song’s favor. This winter’s third base market will likely be headlined by Alex Bregman, assuming he opts out of his deal with the Red Sox, and Eugenio Suárez. At second, Gleyber Torres should be the main attraction. Teams looking for help at first base will likely be looking at Pete Alonso, who can opt out of his Mets deal, as well as Luis Arráez, Josh Naylor, Rhys Hoskins, Ryan O’Hearn and others.
Song will be more affordable than many of the guys in that group, even with the posting fee, though he will also come with the natural uncertainty surrounding a player with no previous major league experience.
Photo courtesy of Evan Habeeb, Imagn Images