San Francisco Giants Struggle in Standings; Local Media Mentions Possibility of Lee Jung-hoo Trade

The San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB), who have failed to achieve a winning percentage above .500 since 2021 despite massive financial investment, have begun to overhaul their roster as they sink deeper into a slump.

The name of high-earner Lee Jung-hoo has also begun to appear on trade speculation lists in local media.

San Francisco narrowly escaped the bottom of the National League West division today (May 11) after a 7-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

However, with a record of 16 wins and 24 losses, they remain 8 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, who are tied for first place in the division.

The U.S. daily newspaper USA Today recently criticized San Francisco as "the worst team money can buy" while forecasting potential moves in the upcoming trade market.

The outlet reported, "The Giants would likely want to shed high-salaried players to start fresh, including Lee Jung-hoo, who has $85 million remaining on his contract, along with Willy Adames ($161 million), Rafael Devers ($226.5 million), and Matt Chapman ($125 million)."

However, the actual likelihood of a trade involving Lee Jung-hoo is not high.

USA Today also noted that "the Giants cannot afford such a luxury," acknowledging that trading these high-earners is realistically difficult.

This is because other clubs are unlikely to take on the massive remaining contract values.

The mention of Lee's name is interpreted more as a reflection of the pressure on the San Francisco front office due to poor returns on their investments, rather than an immediate possibility of a transfer.

The patience of the San Francisco leadership has already reached its limit.

Buster Posey, President of Baseball Operations, traded starting catcher Patrick Bailey, a two-time Gold Glove winner, to the Cleveland Guardians.

Bailey had lost his starting position this season due to a severe slump, batting .146 with 1 home run and an OPS of .396.

In exchange for Bailey, San Francisco received pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson and the 29th overall pick in this year's amateur draft.

USA Today identified starting pitcher Robbie Ray, who will become a free agent after this season, as the most realistic trade asset San Francisco has to offer.

The outlet added that while it expects San Francisco to listen to offers for ace Logan Webb, it is unlikely they will trade the top-tier starting pitcher, who still has three years remaining on his reasonable contract (5 years, $90 million).

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.