CHICAGO — Jung Ho Kang is expected to rejoin the Pirates this weekend in Cincinnati and will be active for the final series of the season, positioning the third baseman to appear in his first major league game in nearly two years.
Kang, 31, played nine innings in a fall instructional league game at Pirate City on Wednesday and was expected to play again Thursday. He was limited to only 16 minor-league games, seven in Triple-A and nine for High-A Bradenton, because of an injury to his left wrist that required surgery.
The promotion will give the Pirates an opportunity to see Kang face major league pitching before they decide whether or not to pick up his $5.5 million club option for next season. He hasn't played in a game for the team since Oct. 2, 2016 and was denied a visa to re-enter the United States after being charged with a DUI in South Korea two months later.
"He’s continued to work hard and we’re running out of games," Neal Huntington told reporters before first pitch Thursday at Wrigley Field. "We’re a little uncomfortable bringing him up here after really five instructional league games, today being the fifth and final one, but we have only three games left in our season after today. Wanted to respect his hard work, his intent to get back, his work to get back, and see. It’s not really going to help us a lot in our evaluation process, as to where we take this, but at the same time give him an opportunity to get back to the big leagues, which is any guy’s goal."
Kang batted .255 with 21 home runs, 62 RBIs and a .867 OPS in 103 games with the team in 2016, but his third DUI conviction prevented him from playing in 2017. He reported to Pirate City in May after receiving his work visa and told a small group of reporters, including DKPittsburghSports.com, through a translator, "I’m not touching a drop of alcohol moving forward."
Although Kang's only game experience this month came in the fall instructional league, the Pirates do plan to find playing time for him against the Reds as a reward for working his way back from injury. Kang crashed a BMW through a guard rail in Seoul, South Korea on December 1, 2016 and was later convicted of driving under the influence. He received an eight-month suspended sentence in March 2017 and lost an appeal two months later. Kang said he made the decision to stop drinking following his third DUI since 2009.
Previously, he said, he only consumed alcohol in the offseason to “let the steam out” but never attempted sobriety. Kang did not disclose either of his first two DUIs to his former team in the Korea Baseball Organization, the Nexen Heroes, or the Pirates — a decision he now calls “ill-informed.”
The U.S. State Department ruled Kang permanently ineligible to obtain a work visa after the third DUI, and he remained in South Korea for most of 2017. Now, he'll likely take at-bats away from Colin Moran, Jose Osuna, Pablo Reyes or Kevin Kramer. It's uncertain he'll even be part of the organization at the end of October.
Huntington has said publicly the Pirates could be interested in bringing Kang back but for the right price. They could decline his option and pay a $250,000 buyout before trying to finalize a deal for a lower rate. It's unclear how much Kang can contribute, but he could fill the power void in their lineup. The Pirates rank 25th in the majors in home runs and 17th in OPS. They'll also be without Gregory Polanco, their leading home run hitter with 23 in 2018, at the start of next season.
Kang hit 36 home runs with 120 RBIs over two big league seasons. He could also be an upgrade defensively over Moran at third base.
"Truth be told, there’s not going to be a whole lot of value in the evaluation process of a one game or one-plus game look," Huntington said. "It’s more respecting all the work he’s put in and trying to see if there’s value in adding and continuing the relationship going forward."