S. Korean Park Hoy-jun designated for assignment by Braves

All News 17:07 December 29, 2022

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- For the third time in just over a month, South Korean player Park Hoy-jun has been designated for assignment by a major league club.

The Atlanta Braves announced Wednesday (local time) that they removed Park from their 40-man roster to make room for newly acquired outfielder Eli White.

If a player is designated for assignment, or DFA'd in major league parlance, he can be traded or placed on irrevocable waivers within seven days. And if the player clears waivers -- meaning, if no team picks that player from waivers -- then the player may be sent outright to the minors or released.

In this Getty Images file photo from June 27, 2022, Park Hoy-jun, then of the Pittsburgh Pirates, signs autographs before a Major League Baseball regular season game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington. (Yonhap)

Park ended the 2022 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates but that club first DFA'd him on Nov. 22. He was traded to the Boston Red Sox the following day.

But the Red Sox DFA'd him on Dec. 13 and then shipped him to the Braves three days later for a player to be named later.

The Braves had been seeking infield depth and Park would have been fighting for a backup infielder position. Instead, the Braves did what the Pirates and the Red Sox had done earlier and put Park's big league career in limbo.

Park, 26, signed with the New York Yankees in 2014 and made his big league debut with the team in July 2021.

He was traded to the Pirates later that same month. In 2022, he appeared in 23 big league games across four stints with the Pirates, while spending the rest of the time in the minors.

Park had a .216/.276/.373 line with two home runs and six RBIs in those 23 games. The versatile player has appeared at second base, third base, shortstop and right field this year.