He said he wanted to come back, but he could have changed his mind, surpassing 22 billion MVP...18 teams are interested in Hearts, about to return
Jan 01, 2025
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It was a change of heart for a reason. Ace Hart, who endured without renewing his contract with the NC Dinos, is drawing attention from U.S. Major League teams. There are 18 clubs that have shown interest in Hearts. Five teams are known to have shown active interest in the details of the contract, including the Houston Astros, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Baltimore Orioles, the Minnesota Twins, and the New York Yankees.
The MLB Trade Rumors, which covers the news of the U.S. Major League Baseball transfer market, is reportedly attracting attention from five clubs, including Houston, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Minnesota and the Yankees, according to The Athletic on the 1st (Korea time). Earlier last month, Fanside's Robert Murray reported that 18 clubs have confirmed Hart's performance in preparation for his return to the U.S. after a successful year with the KBO club, the NC Dinos.
Hearts did not prepare to return to the U.S. from the beginning. NC naturally wanted to hold on to Hart, who played as an ace last year. After the 2022 season, Drew Luchinski (37) and Eric Peddy (32) returned to the U.S. after the 2023 season, so Hart didn't want to experience ace leaks for three consecutive years.
Lim Sun-nam, NC's general manager, said "Heart had a meeting before he went to the U.S. after finishing the season in Korea. At that time, I definitely wanted to come back to Korea, and I wanted to come back to Dinos again. In that respect, we also thought very positively.'
Hart changed his mind after returning to the United States. The U.S. media predicted Hearts to be another example of KBO reverse export, and in fact, they began to focus more on contracts with major league clubs as they received attention from multiple clubs during the winter meeting.
"After returning to the U.S., Hearts can return to the Major League, and the expected amount of money is expected to be a three-year contract, so I think the player's expectations have suddenly risen," Lim said. Since then, we have become passive in our conversation. It is unclear to us whether Hart received a Major League club offer. It has been confirmed that he met several clubs at the winter meeting. Anyway, in this atmosphere, the player will continue to seek a return to the Major League, so we regret that we have decided to respect the player's thoughts. He announced his separation from Hart and signed a $1 million contract with new ace Logan Allen (28) on the 18th of last month.
Hart was recognized as the top ace in the KBO League last year with 13 wins, 3 losses, 157 innings, 182 strikeouts, and a 2.69 ERA in 26 starts. He won the Golden Glove and Choi Dong-won Award in pitching, ranking first in strikeouts, second in ERA, and third in multiple wins.
Just because Hearts received attention from multiple Major League teams, it is hard to guarantee that it will lead to a good contract.
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Hart was an ace in the KBO League, but when he returns to the United States, he is quite likely to take on the bullpen or swingman. Among the clubs that showed interest in Hart, there are reportedly quite a few clubs that aim to strengthen the bullpen.
MLB Trade Rumors added 'Heart's limited pitching repertoire doesn't matter if you're prepared with a bullpen. The Athletic said several major league teams interested in Hart see him as a multi-inning reliever. 'Whether Hart is a starter, a long relief, or a swingman in charge of both, there will be many advantages if he can move to the big leagues even part of his success in KBO at the age of 33.'
The media went on to say that it is not known whether Hart is clearly looking for a starting opportunity in the Major League or whatever mission he takes. However, the five teams that showed specific interest in Hart are expected to consider him as a bullpen or swingman, or as a substitute when injuries or trades create holes in the starting rotation in the future. Minnesota and the Yankees are particularly short of left-handed bullpen options, so Hart could be very attractive for these two teams,' he added.
Hart was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 19th round of the 2016 draft. He made his Major League debut late in 2020, but only had four games (three starts), one loss, 11 innings, and an ERA of 15.55. Since then, he has never had a chance in the big leagues. He left Boston and moved to the Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies' minor league Triple-A teams until 2023 before choosing to go to Korea. His overall record in the four seasons of Triple-A is 24 wins and 24 losses in 69 games (57 starts), 334 ⅔ innings, and 4.36 ERA. The gap between performance and KBO league performance in the U.S. is so wide that the U.S. media cannot easily guarantee Hart's success in returning to the big league.
Even if you use a bullpen or swingman, it will be difficult to be treated as much as Pedi. Peddy won the KBO MVP in the 2023 season with 30 games, 20-6, 180 ⅓ innings, 209 strikeouts and a 2.00 ERA. He became the first foreign pitcher to achieve a triple crown in history by ranking first in three categories, including multiple wins, ERA and strikeouts. Peddy signed a two-year, $15 million (about 22 billion won) contract with the Chicago White Sox, who needed a starter at the end of the season, and was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals as the White Sox prepared to rebuild during the season. MLB.com rated Peddy as the second most stable starter after Sonny Gray (35) in St. Louis this season and named him one of the "eight guys that made a splash in the major leagues in 2024.
Can Hearts Follow Peddy's Success Story. Even if the contract size does not exceed Pedi, the opportunity to continue his career in the Major League seems to be around the corner.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
