KBO star Koo Ja-wook hires US agent in pursuit of MLB opportunity: report
Samsung Lions' Koo Ja-wook, center, celebrates after being named Most Valuable Player at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, South Korea, Sunday. Yonhap
Samsung Lions star Koo Ja-wook has hired a U.S.-based agent in pursuit of a major league contract this offseason, a report said Friday.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweeted Koo has hired Jaron Long of Mako Corp. to represent him as the 33-year-old outfielder seeks a jump from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to Major League Baseball.
Koo is fresh off winning the Korean Series MVP award after helping his Lions win their first KBO championship in 12 years.
Koo batted 10-for-20 with a home run and six RBIs as the Lions knocked off the KT Wiz in five games in the Korean Series, even as he was playing through lingering effects of a hamstring injury.
In the regular season, Koo won his first career batting title with a .371 mark and led everyone with a .458 on-base percentage. Koo also ranked among the KBO leaders in hits, doubles, RBIs and runs.
In 1,466 career games, Koo has a lifetime batting average of .322 — the fourth-best mark in league history among those with at least 3,000 plate appearances — along with 201 home runs and 984 RBIs.
Koo, who has only played for the Lions since his KBO debut in 2015, is a free agent this winter, as his five-year contract with the club expired.
Koo, who bats left and throws right, has mostly been a corner outfielder but also played some first base and third base earlier in his career.
In a press conference after the Lions' title-clinching victory on Nov. 8, Koo said, "If anyone from a major league club is reading this, please contact me. I would love to go challenge myself in the U.S. I am serious."
Long is a former minor league pitcher who cut his teeth working for Boras Corporation. The 35-year-old is the son of Kevin Long, former hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Washington Nationals, the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.