Jung Ho Kang is reportedly making one more attempt at trying to enter the United States.
According to Daum.net, a Korean-language news website, Kang has returned to the Dominican Republic — where he was cut following only 24 games in the Dominican Winter League in November — in an effort to obtain a work visa to enter the United States.
Jung-Ho Kang update: Kang has entered the Dominican Republic to apply for U.S. work visa from the U.S. embassy in D.R. #Pirates https://t.co/WNUdfsFxh2
— Sung Min Kim (@sung_minkim) January 19, 2018
Kang's visit to the American embassy there is somewhat of a final attempt for him to obtain the visa this year after being unable to join the Pirates in 2017.
Despite the latest report, it's clear the Pirates are prepared to move on from Kang. They obtained third baseman Colin Moran, who is expected to make the major league roster, in the five-player trade that sent Gerrit Cole to the World Series champion Astros.
Additionally, Neal Huntington told fans during a question-and-answer session at PiratesFest last month that the front office was under the assumption Kang would not be able to return to the United States in 2018.
“Looking forward to 2018, getting Kang back would be huge,” Huntington said. “We don’t think it’s going to happen, but it would be huge.”
Huntington's comments came only two weeks after Kang made an unsuccessful attempt to play winter ball for Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League.
The 30-year-old third baseman was 12-of-84, slashing .143/.219/.202 with only three extra-base hits, including one home run, and 31 strikeouts to eight walks when he was cut in November. He signed with the team to become reacclimated to baseball after missing all of 2017 because he could not obtain a work visa stemming from his third DUI conviction in his native South Korea.
Kang, who was scheduled to make $2.75 million this past season, hit 21 home runs with a .354 on-base percentage in 103 games in 2016. He finished third in the rookie of the year voting in 2015 after he played nine years in the Korea Baseball Organization.
The Pirates’ offense struggled without him in 2017. They ranked 27th in batting average, 28th in runs, 29th in home runs and 28th in OPS. Besides his production, Kang was a bargain for a power-hitting third baseman.
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