With the six-year, $113 million deal earlier this month, the Giants made Korean center fielder Jung Hoo Lee their biggest free agent acquisition since Barry Zito.
If that financial commitment doesn’t show how serious the Giants are about Lee’s ability to contribute at the MLB level, allow the manager to.
Bob Melvin, joining The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami’s “TK Show” podcast, said the team expects to give Lee not just the everyday center field job, but also the leadoff spot in the lineup.
“As of right now, I don’t see why not,” Melvin said when asked if Lee will lead off. “I’ve written some lineups down since we acquired him, and all of them have him leading off at this point in time. And that’s what he’s comfortable doing, that’s what he’s done before. So as of now, for sure.”
The Giants used nine different leadoff hitters last year, most commonly switching between LaMonte Wade Jr. and Thairo Estrada. The team struggled offensively, in part due to a lack of speed — they finished last in stolen bases — and an inability to put the ball in play assertively with runners in scoring position. Lee could help in both areas.
Despite the relative instability, the Giants produced well; their leadoff hitters registered a 124 wRC+, seventh best in MLB per Fangraphs. Lee, though, could bring a different dimension.
Nicknamed “Grandson of the Wind” after his father, Lee won five Gold Gloves and an MVP award in the KBO. He rarely struck out in the KBO, relying on impressive bat-to-ball skills. The Giants scouted him heavily, including sending general manager Pete Putila to Korea just to see Lee’s final at-bat. Last season, he hit .318 with six home runs before an ankle fracture ended his season early.
At his introductory press conference, Lee said he’s fully recovered from ankle surgery and thrilled to be a Giant and play in the city he visited as a kid.
“Let’s go Giants!” Lee said as he wrapped up his brief statement in english.
Melvin couldn’t make it to the press conference, but FaceTimed Lee before he took the podium.
“Ton of personality there,” Melvin said on “The TK Show.” “Obviously loves being a Giant, that really resonates with me. It’s going to resonate with our guys too. This is the place he wanted to be, the team he wanted to be with. Looks good in black and orange.”
Melvin managed Ha-Seong Kim for two years in San Diego, who was Lee’s former teammate for the Kiwoom Heroes. Kim and Lee have remained close friends, with Lee saying he has picked the infielder’s brain about MLB.
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Like Kim and others who have made the KBO-to-MLB leap, Lee could face an adjustment period, particularly against higher velocity pitching. Kim thrived under Melvin, winning a Gold Glove and earning down-ballot MVP consideration in 2023.
“The style in which they play, there’s a lot of intensity, there’s a lot of fun,” Melvin said of Kim and Lee. “They play the game really hard, all-out all the time. That’s something similar to kind of some of the Oakland teams we had.”
To compete in the impressive National League West, the Giants will need to improve their roster beyond just Lee, though. They made a genuine effort to sign Shohei Ohtani, but lost out to the Dodgers. Melvin managed Matt Chapman with the A’s, and the third baseman is still available. Melvin also confirmed to Kawakami that the Giants met with top free agent pitcher Yoshinobu.
What’s certain, though, is Lee is a Giant — no physical exam snags or canceled press conferences. And he could be at the top of San Francisco’s order for quite some time.
