Ji-hwan Bae, a minor league shortstop signed by the Pirates in March, has returned to his native South Korea to face allegations of abuse by an ex-girlfriend.
Bae, 18, signed for $1.2 million — the second-highest international signing bonus in team history — and appeared in a Grapefruit League game for the Pirates at LECOM Park in March. According to Sports Chosun, a Korean news outlet, the woman alleges Bae kicked, choked and hit her.
Bae informed the Pirates of the police investigation, and the team reported the information to Major League Baseball’s Department of Investigation.
"Minor league player Ji-hwan Bae informed us that a former girlfriend in South Korea has accused him of domestic violence," Neal Huntington said in a statement. "Pursuant to Major League Baseball’s policy on such matters, we immediately reported this information to Major League Baseball’s Department of Investigation. The Pirates are cooperating fully with MLB’s review. Bae has decided to return to South Korea to address these allegations directly."
Bae is one of only two players to leave a high school in South Korea directly for professional baseball in America and has been regarded as one of the top amateur players on the Asian continent over the past year. Bae, who attended Kyeongbuk High School in Daegu, the country’s fourth-largest city, batted .286 with five RBIs, six runs and a pair of stolen bases during the U-18 Baseball World Cup.
He was projected as a first-round pick in the KBO’s draft last year, but chose to sign with the Braves in September. Atlanta gave him a $300,000 signing bonus, and the two sides also agreed to $600,000 worth of compensation outside of that contract. Bae played in instructional league for the Braves, but Major League Baseball rejected the contract because of the additional compensation. He became one of 13 prospects lost by the Atlanta organization because of improprieties in international free agency.
The Pirates were among a number of teams to pursue Bae prior to his agreement with the Braves and intensified that pursuit this offseason once he was again a free agent.
Bae was participating in extended spring training at the Pirates' facility in Bradenton, Fla.
