The Pittsburgh Pirates' next left fielder could be this KBO star

The Pittsburgh Pirates still need a bat or two for 2026. They cleared out some money with their deadline deals, and one hopes the Pirates reinvest it wisely in the offseason. One position the Pirates need to figure out is left field. They signed Tommy Pham last offseason, and while he has put up some solid numbers since updating his contacts, he is a free agent at the end of the year. The Pirates don’t have a Major League-ready solution in the farm system, either. One player they should go after in their boundless search for competence is South Korean star Baek Ho Kang, who is looking to make his way over to the United States during this upcoming offseason.

Kang had an outstanding start to his career, all of which has been spent with the KT Wiz of the KBO. After a great 2018 rookie campaign at just 18 years old, Kang went on to turn in at least a .330 batting average and .911 OPS every year from 2019 through 2021. By the end of the 2021 season, Kang ranked in the top ten in the KBO in batting average, on-base percentage, OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ among qualified hitters across his first four seasons.

Unfortunately, Kang ran into some serious roadblocks in 2022 and 2023. He was first sidelined to open the season with a broken toe in 2022 after falling down a set of stairs. Kang then suffered a partially torn hamstring, which limited him to just 62 games all season. 2023 was also a rough year for Kang, as he missed time due to anxiety. If that wasn’t bad enough, he then went through an oblique tear that same season. When he was healthy enough to take the field, he put up an 86 wRC+ in 2022, and a 108 mark in 2023.

Kang has returned to action in both 2024 and 2025, and while he has rebounded to a degree, his numbers over the last two years don’t come close to his pre-2022 production. Last year, he hit .289/.360/.480 with a .373 wOBA and 112 wRC+ in a hitter-friendly KBO season. This season, he is hitting .255/.345/.441 with a .359 wOBA, but an improved 114 wRC+. The average OPS in the KBO dropped from .772 in 2024 to just .719 this season. On the plus side, his 11.2% walk rate this year is better than league average, and he is striking out less than 20% of the time for the first time in a full season since his outstanding 2021 season. His swinging strike rate is also below 10% this year, and his contact rate is approaching 80%, sitting at 79.1%.

Baek Ho Kang is looking for a MLB team, and the Pirates have the opportunity to give him a starting role on their 2026 roster.

Kang is primarily a first baseman, but is far from limited to just that position. He has seen playing time at all three outfield positions throughout his career, but mainly in the corners. Kang has even caught a handful of innings and has started four games behind the dish this year, posting 169.1 innings at catcher in 2024. The Pirates would have a handful of ways of utilizing him if they signed him.

How much the Pirates would have to shell out for Kang is the big question. We’ve seen Korean stars sign for over $110 million, like Jung Hoo Lee of the San Francisco Giants, or for less than $15 million, like in the case of Hyesong Kim last year with the LA Dodgers. Kang is just one month younger than Lee, and six months older than Kim. If this happens to be Kang’s last season in Korea before testing the US waters, he would be coming off a worse season than either Lee or Kim. He also plays much less premium positions than either Lee (center fielder) or Kim (second base/shortstop/center field), if he isn’t seen as an option behind the plate. 

Kang is a younger, strong-side platoon corner outfielder/first baseman who can catch in a pinch. A two-year contract worth $3-$5 million a year with a team option for a third year seems reasonable for Kang. That’s about how much Kim signed for last year, but for three guaranteed seasons with two more club option years, and at an AAV just over $4 million. That also falls in the Pirates’ price range, as the average salary for free agents since Ben Cherington took over as general manager is about $3.7 million. They also signed Pham last offseason for just over $4 million, who comes with much less upside than Kang. Pham's a regressing known quantity. Kang could be much more.

The Pirates should take the low-risk investment and go after Baek Ho Kang this offseason. They need someone who can play corner outfield, and they could platoon him with a right-handed hitter, like Billy Cook or Nick Yorke. Given his versatility, he could help the Pirates at more than just left or right field in 2026.