Orioles trying to get out of Kim contract? (Kim stays on roster)

[LA2]

Do you think this was leaked by accident? Perhaps a ploy to get Kim to think about accepting a minor league assignment?

If so, it's a pretty cowardly method and certainly won't help Baltimore to attract Asian players in the future.

[birdcrazy]

Kim has a $7 Million contract..and a chance to maybe never make that again. Why would he back out or ask to go home? I am sure if you make a list of things that people would do for $7 Million there would be a lot worse than sucking for two years on a MLB roster.

He struck me from the start as overweight and not very athletic.

[LookitsPuck]

Disgraceful. We are embarrassing ourselves.

[thezeroes]

Sources also stated that we had signed Fowler to a contract.

I will take a wait and see approach to the entire thing.

This is Ken Rosenthal and FOX SPORTS doing the reporting.

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/baltimore-orioles-hyun-soo-kim-outfielder-release-south-korea-suk-min-yoon-032616

[vab]

I seriously doubt the Orioles are giving up on Kim already. He must be asking out.

[InsideCoroner]

I wouldn't understand giving up on Kim before the season even starts, unless there's something we don't know about. The money isn't that much. I also don't see Kim asking to get out of a career payday.

Maybe they're just trying to light a fire under him, trying to incite an extra base hit. Or a walk.

[TINSTAAPP]

Here's what I don't understand. The Orioles signed Kim for dirt cheap at 2 years, $7 million. For comparison's sake, the Yankees signed Matt Thornton, a very good LOOGY to the exact same contract two years ago. So basically the Orioles signed Kim to a contract that is very similar to what good situational middle relievers get in free agency. Why were the Orioles expecting anything more than a solid 4th OF/platoon player at best? If he was that good, he would have been signed for a lot more money especially since there was no posting fee attached to him.

[JLee2027]

Sources also stated that we had signed Fowler to a contract.

I will take a wait and see approach to the entire thing.

This is Ken Rosenthal and FOX SPORTS doing the reporting.

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/baltimore-orioles-hyun-soo-kim-outfielder-release-south-korea-suk-min-yoon-032616

Yup. Much ado about nothing.

[Rene88]

Can't be, everyone told me he was awesome.

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[AdamK]

If so, it's a pretty cowardly method and certainly won't help Baltimore to attract Asian players in the future.

Whether this is true or not, there's no denying the learning curve and there will always be players who strongly believe they'd have better batting luck than hitting like Chris Davis in ST.

I'm not concerned with how this may be perceived by other leagues. Nothing is guaranteed. His contact is not crazy.

[AdamK]

Perhaps Kim wants to go back if he senses he's not going to be starting?

Look, Rickard changed everything. And the fact that they could possibly get Murphy for nothing changes things even more.

Rickard has. Agreed.

Best to not rely on guys like Rickard though. Got to spread out the opportunities and chances and bullets and blah blah blahs.

[Going Underground]

I think Buck never liked him.He made comments about Kim being overweight.I have never heard him say that about another player.I still have a feeling he still might stay.Internal discussions probably between Buck and Dan.

[yujinishuge]

Looks like I was wrong.

[wildcard]

Since starting the season at 0 for 23, he has hit .381 with an OBP of .458. He is 8 for 21 with 1 walk and 2 HBP. He has strikeout 3 times. He does not have an extra base hit yet.

If the O's were looking for OBP when they signed him he might be about to deliver it. He may not be the fastest outfielder but I have not seen or heard that he has embarrassed himself himself either.

Rickard has shown to be a better outfielder and hitter so far. He should be the starting leftfielder. But having Kim and Reimold on the bench is not a bad way to go IMO. Kim will make 2.8m this year. Seems fine for a bench player.

[UpstateNYfan]

This is a lot of drama. The only reason it has any media play at all is because of his Korean background. He is a player in his prime and decided to give it a shot in MLB. From the early small sample size, it appears he is over matched. It is not that uncommon for teams to eat contracts and send players on their way. Perhaps Kim himself would rather be in a better situation and would prefer some sort of buyout rather than riding the pines. I hope it works out for him. He took a chance, came half way around the world for the challenge. I give him some credit for that.