Earlier today, news broke that the Padres were the highest bidder for South Korean southpaw Kwang-Hyun Kim. There was some speculation, however, that the SK Wyverns wanted $10 million for Kim's services, a far cry from the $2 million A.J. Preller and company are offering. Well, according to MLB Trade Rumors, the Wyverns have come to their senses.
The Wyverns will accept the Padres’ bid for Kim, who now has a 30-day window to negotiate a contract with the Padres, according to a report from Naver Sports (Korean link; hat tip to Sung-Min Kim on Twitter). Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net tweets that Kim is being represented by veteran MLB agent Melvin Roman.
If the Padres do sign Kim, and assuming they'd use him as a starter, he fills the lefty niche the team lost when they designated Eric Stults for assignment last week. Between this, the upcoming Winter Meetings, and a certain other international player expected to make a decision soon, it should be an interesting month for the Padres.
And, courtesy of del4rel, here's a video of Kim in action: