SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Jung Hoo Lee is back, but he might not necessarily be returning to the leadoff spot for the Giants.
San Francisco expected Lee to serve as its primary leadoff hitter after he joined the club on a six-year, $113 million deal last offseason, but the 26-year-old center fielder appeared in only 37 games before suffering a season-ending left shoulder injury in May.
Now that Lee is healthy, manager Bob Melvin said he’s been considering moving Lee to the heart of the Giants’ lineup and slotting LaMonte Wade Jr. into the top spot to try to capitalize on the latter’s elite on-base skills.
“Wade gets on base, too, so somebody’s got to hit third, too,” Melvin said Thursday. “When we are lefty-righty, I’m going to talk to [Lee] a little bit about maybe the three-hole.
“[Willy] Adames fits pretty well in the two-hole right now. [Matt Chapman] probably fits pretty well in the four-hole right now. Maybe [Heliot] Ramos right behind him. … We’ll see where it goes. It’s not etched in stone here that Jung Hoo is going to lead off.”
Lee, who has been participating in early workouts for position players at Scottsdale Stadium this week, said he has no preference as far as where he hits in the lineup and added that he often batted third when he played in the KBO, where he drove in a career-high 113 runs during his MVP-campaign for the Kiwoom Heroes in 2022.
“It does not matter what hole I play in the lineup,” Lee said via interpreter Justin Han. “I can be the eighth hole, ninth hole. If Bob puts me in the lineup, I’m playing that game, and I’m just going to show what’s best for the team and get prepared for the team. I’m used to playing the third hole in Korea. It is a position where I say that I’m confident at. At the same time, every hole in the lineup, everybody has their own role, and if that’s my role to do that day, I’m doing it.”
Regardless of where he hits, the Giants will be counting on Lee to emerge as a key offensive contributor and help anchor the lineup alongside veterans like Adames and Chapman. Lee batted .262 with a .641 OPS and two home runs over 158 plate appearances prior to his injury, but he didn’t look overmatched while facing big league competition for the first time and showed flashes of the supreme bat-to-ball skills that made him a star in his native Korea.
“From Day 1 of spring, you could see him make adjustments,” Melvin said. “The second time around playing teams in spring and understanding how he’s going to be pitched, I thought he was on his way to having a really good year. We really missed him. I know there’s not a lot of track record at the big leagues with him, but we still feel like he’s got a real high ceiling. He’s still a young guy, and he’s really motivated to come back and play well this year.”
If he bounces back as expected, Lee could emerge as one of the Giants’ most valuable players this season, as he’s forecast to hit .294 with 14 home runs over 143 games, according to FanGraphs’ Steamer projections, which would generate the second-highest WAR (4.1) on the club behind catcher Patrick Bailey (4.4).
The Giants want Lee to avoid diving this spring to avoid another setback with his shoulder, but he said he doesn’t expect the injury to affect his approach to the game in the long run.
“I had a great, great rehab with the Giants,” Lee said. “I’m not scared about bumping up against the fence. … If I’m playing out there with limitations as a baseball player in the outfield, that’s when I’m not prepared for the game. For now, I am prepared.”
The Giants already seem to be betting on a big season from Lee, as they recently started selling tickets for a new Jung Hoo Crew section in the outfield. The seats will be available in section 142 for weekend home games and will come with an exclusive Lee T-shirt.
“Very thankful for all the love that I’m getting here with the Giants,” Lee said. “Even though I’m the one playing out there in the outfield, I’m the one playing inside the box, I know that if there wasn’t the love from the fans, I wouldn’t be able to be here. I just wanted to show the fans and also the team what kind of player I can be. I want to meet the expectations that everybody has.”