Padres Lose Jung Hoo Lee Sweepstakes to NL West Rival

This hurts for San Diego.

Free agent outfielder Jung Hoo Lee has agreed to sign a six-year, $113 million deal with the San Francisco Giants. The San Diego Padres were long seen as the favorite for Lee after trading Juan Soto to the New York Yankees, but they lost out to the division rival Giants. New York Post insider Jon Heyman reported the news.

Jung Hoo Lee to Giants. 6 years, $113M. opt out after 4 years.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 12, 2023

Lee was a major priority for the Padres this offseason after trading away star outfielder Juan Soto, so it hurts to see him land with the division-rival Giants. San Diego has been trying to cut salary all offseason, however, and they were never going to pay the amount that San Francisco did.

The Korean outfielder would have fit in very well with the Padres. and he would have helped ease the major hole in their lineup left over by the trade of Soto. Last season, Lee slashed .349/.421/.575 with 23 home runs. 

Many around the game of baseball believe that Lee's power would have translated over to the major leagues nicely, hence the interest from San Diego. Lee is also best friends with Padres second baseman Ha-Seong Kim, which had some people thinking that they may hold an advantage.

MLB Trade Rumors experts predicted that Lee would receive a deal of around five years, worth $50 million. The Giants doubled that, all but ending the Padres' chances.

The Padres will now need to look elsewhere for another outfielder, and they'll be forced to see Lee multiple times a year going forward. The Padres' front office went all-in over the last few seasons, and it has completely come back to bite them.

Lee isn't the only free agent that the Padres will miss out on due to their spending issues, and they have nobody to blame but themselves. The front office has a lot of work to do the rest of the winter, just to keep up with what the rest of the NL West is doing.