Los Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles Dodgers won a bidding war to obtain the negotiating rights to South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-Jin, Major League Baseball announced on Saturday.
Though neither MLB nor the Dodgers revealed the amount of the posting fee the team paid the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization for Ryu's rights, FoxSports.com reported it to be $25.7 million.
The Dodgers now have a period of 30 days to attempt to sign Ryu, a 25-year-old left-hander considered one of the top available international prospects who is represented by famed agent Scott Boras.
Ryu has spent his entire seven-year pro career in the KBO and compiled a 98-52 record with a 2.80 earned run average over that time frame. He also helped his native South Korea to a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by going 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA in two starts.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound southpaw won just nine times for last-place Hanwha this past season, but posted a 2.66 ERA and struck out 210 batters over 182 2/3 innings.
"We are thrilled to have this exciting opportunity," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said in a statement. "We have watched Ryu pitch for a long time and he is another option to consider as we look to improve our team in 2013 and beyond. We'd like to thank the Hanwha Eagles and we look forward to meeting Ryu and beginning the negotiation process very soon."
Several teams, including the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs, were also believed to have submitted bids for Ryu. The Rangers paid a $51.7 million posting fee to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japan Pacific League to acquire 2012 rookie standout Yu Darvish last winter.
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