Should Bae Ji-hwan Follow Choi Ji-man to Korea? Despite .890 OPS in Triple-A, He’s Overlooked for Released Players Batting .174

Outfielder Bae Ji-hwan (26), playing for the New York Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, continues to be overlooked for a call-up despite impressive numbers. While he posts strong stats in the minors, the Mets keep turning to players released by other teams instead.

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On April 28, the Mets signed outfielder Austin Slater, who had been designated for assignment and then released by the Miami Marlins. He filled the roster spot vacated when Tommy Pham was designated for assignment just weeks earlier.

Pham had signed a minor league deal with the Mets late last month and was called up on April 14. But in 13 games, he went 0-for-13 with one walk and seven strikeouts, leading to his departure after just two weeks. Slater, the replacement, also struggled in Miami this season, hitting .174 (4-for-23) with one RBI and a .460 OPS in 12 games.

That has to be frustrating for Bae. Through 20 Triple-A games, he is batting .333 (22-for-66) with two home runs, 10 RBIs, a .405 on-base percentage, a .485 slugging percentage, and an .890 OPS—leading the team in average, on-base, slugging, and OPS. He has hit safely in eight straight games, can play all three outfield positions, and has five stolen bases. Yet the Mets show no interest, instead bringing in veteran castoffs from other clubs as short-term fixes.

Bae was claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates after last season, but in January he was moved to Triple-A and removed from the 40-man roster. As a non-roster invitee to spring training, he hit .294 (5-for-17) with two RBIs and an .871 OPS in 11 exhibition games, showing pop with a double and a triple despite limited at-bats. Still, he was sent down to minor league camp with about two weeks left before Opening Day, losing the backup outfield job to top prospect Carson Benge and former KBO hitter Mike Tauchman, who joined on a minor league deal.

Even after the season began, Bae kept hitting in Triple-A while the Mets ignored him. When outfielders Juan Soto and Jared Young got hurt, Bae wasn’t called up. Calling him up would require removing someone from the 40-man roster, and that has been a hurdle.

But the Mets have used that open roster spot on released players. Along with Slater, they claimed infielder Eric Wagaman off waivers from the Minnesota Twins and assigned him to Triple-A Syracuse. Wagaman hit just .159 (10-for-63) with one homer, six RBIs and a .538 OPS in 18 games for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, but he has power—10 homers for Miami last year—and can cover a corner outfield spot.

Clearly low on the Mets’ priority list, Bae now stands at a career crossroads. A graduate of Gyeongbuk High School in South Korea, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates for $1.25 million in March 2018 and debuted as the 26th Korean major leaguer in September 2022. In 2023 he played 111 games and stole 24 bases, showing his speed, but his bat never fully clicked. Switching to the outfield full-time in 2024, he hoped to become an everyday player but was limited to 29 games due to injuries. Last season he made the Opening Day roster after a strong spring but appeared in only 13 games.

He has consistently produced in Triple-A but struggled in the majors, earning the “Quadruple-A” label. This year, even the call-up opportunities have dried up. Now in his mid-20s, his chances are shrinking, and the thought of returning to South Korea is slowly becoming more realistic.