The Pirates have not lost hope with Jung Ho Kang. The third baseman remains unable to enter the United States, but the Pirates are making plans for him to play in the Dominican Winter League, general manager Neal Huntington said.
The Department of State has thus far rejected Kang's application for a visa in the aftermath of his DUI arrest in Seoul, in his native South Korea, in December. That DUI was the third such incident in South Korea.
Kang was charged with leaving the scene of a DUI accident after he crashed into a guard rail at 2:48 a.m. on Dec. 2. Local police told the Yonhap News Agency at the time that a friend of Kang's in the passenger seat initially told police that the friend was driving, but the car's black box identified Kang as the driver.
Kang's blood alcohol level was 0.084, above Korea's legal limit of 0.05. Kang lost his license because he committed his third DUI offense, and he cannot reacquire it for two years. Seoul's Central District Court gave him an eight-month sentence, suspended for two years, and an appeals court upheld the sentence.
After appearing before a joint treatment board, as mandated by the collective bargaining agreement, Kang agreed to follow the panel's recommended treatment plan.
Kang is currently on the restricted list, meaning he does not count against the Pirates' 40-man roster and is not being paid. They signed him to a four-year, $11 million contract, plus a posting fee of $5 million to his former Korea Baseball Organization for the rights to negotiate with him, before the 2015 season.
The Dominican Winter League begins Oct. 20 and the regular season runs through Christmas Eve. Many Dominican major and minor leaguers play each year, along with players who need to make up at-bats after missing time because of an injury or players who are changing positions. The players and fans take the games seriously and the atmosphere is energetic. Were Kang to play, he would get live at-bats in a competitive setting for the first time since October, which would ease his transition into spring training in 2018 _ if he can get a visa by then.
