The New York Mets were reportedly one of a handful of teams to scout 31-year-old Korean left-hander Kwang-Hyun Kim this week at the Premier12 tournament being held around the globe, as per Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.
In late October, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic mentioned Kim as a “name to keep in mind” this offseason, adding that the southpaw “wants to play in the majors next season” and “his club, SK Wyverns, is currently weighing its options”.
Over 31 appearances (30 starts; 190.1 innings) for SK Wyverns this season, Kim pitched to a 2.51 ERA with 180 strikeouts, 38 walks, and 1.24 WHIP. His low-90s fastball, tight slider, upper-70s changeup, and swooping curve have been keeping KBO hitters off-balance, clearly.
After being posted by SK Wyverns in 2014, the San Diego Padres won the rights to negotiate with Kim and his team, but the sides were unable to come to an agreement following an examination of his medical records and a physical.
Kim underwent ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery mid-season in 2016 and didn’t return until 2018, pitching to a 2.98 ERA over 25 starts (136 IP) with 130 strikeouts, 30 walks, and 1.14 WHIP.
Kwang-Hyun Kim threw six, one-hit, scoreless innings for South Korea versus Canada on Thursday, his only appearance of the tournament thus far.
We’ll keep you posted if more information becomes available.
