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Report: Byung-Ho Park traveling to U.S., deal expected with Twins

(SpoTV)
(SpoTV)

In a sign that Korean slugger Byung-Ho Park is nearing a deal with the Minnesota Twins, reports say the two-time Korea Baseball Organization MVP is headed to the United States thiis weekend.

Citing a report by a South Korean news agency, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press says that Park will travel to the U.S. on Sunday, making a quick stop in Chicago to meet with Alan Nero, his agent. Park will then travel to Minnesota to meet with Twins brass and take a physical, which is another sign negotiations are progressing.

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Here's more from Berardino:

Whether that means the Twins and Park have already come to an agreement or merely have made substantial progress is unclear at this point. Twins general manager Terry Ryan has expressed optimism about the team's chances of signing their first high-end Asian free agent since Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka in the 2010-11 offseason.

For what it's worth, Phil Miller at the Star Tribune hears a deal is expected to be finalized during Park's visit.

Ten days remain to sign South Korean slugger Byung-ho Park, but the Twins now believe negotiations probably won’t come down to the deadline, a source with knowledge of the talks said Saturday.

“He’s coming to the U.S. [this week],” the source said. “There’s a reason for that. … [The Twins] think it will be done soon.”

On Nov. 9, the Twins were awarded the winning bid of $12.85 million for negotiation rights with Park. That gives them until Dec. 8 to finalize a contract. If they're unable to do so, Park will return to the Nexen Heroes and Twins won't be forced to pay negotiating fee. Based on the latest news, things obviously look good now, but with the calendar flipping to December on Tuesday they can ill-afford any unforeseen snags in negotiations. If a deal isn't finalized by mid-week, that would probably be reason for alarm.

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Park, 29, is one of the top hitters in the Korea Baseball Organization, having slugged 105 homers over the past two seasons. Given the success that Jung Ho Kang enjoyed in his first season with the Pittsburgh Pirates — he hit .310/.364/.548 with 11 homers after the All-Star break — concerns about how Park's offensive game and especially his power will translate are obviously much lower than they were for Kang. That should lead to Park receiving a much healthier contract than Kang's four-year, $11 million deal.

There's no official word on what Park is seeking in his deal or how high the Twins might be willing to go in years and money. Those questions seem likely to be answered in the next 48-72 hours.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!