Park Joon-hyun, who chose Korea, signed a contract with Toronto for 2.1 billion won in ML entry documents

Sep 25, 2025

Jang Chung-joon signed a $1.5 million down payment with the Toronto Blue Jays and entered the Major League. Photo courtesy = Rico Sports Agency

Jangchungo right-hander Seo Moon-joon joined the Toronto Blue Jays in the Major League.

On the 25th (Korea time), Seo Moon-joon signed a formal contract for a down payment of $1.5 million (about 2.1 billion won) and completed the official joining process at Rogers Center, Toronto's home stadium. Toronto is a team where Ryu Hyun-jin transferred from the LA Dodgers to the FA, and is also familiar to Korean baseball fans.

Seo Moon-joon is an orthodox right-hander with a maximum speed of 155km, which is emitted from a tall height of 1m96, and various pitches such as pitch-seam, slider, curve, and change-up.

Andrew Tinish, vice president of international scouting and baseball operations for the Toronto Blue Jays, said, "Joo Moon-joon is a promising player with physical conditions and various breaking balls suitable to grow into a starting pitcher in the Major League. We hope that the club will provide an optimal growth environment and establish itself as a recognized pitcher by fans in Korea and around the world through steady efforts."," he said.

"I'm honored to be able to challenge the Toronto Blue Jays on the major league stage that I've dreamed of since I was young," Moon said. "I'll grow one step at a time without fear of failure." I sincerely thank my family and leaders for trusting and supporting me."

Jang Chung-joon signed a $1.5 million down payment with the Toronto Blue Jays and entered the Major League. Photo courtesy = Rico Sports Agency

In this year's high school stage, Seo Moon-joon pitched 26 ⅔ innings in 10 games and recorded 3 wins, 2 losses, 40 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.77.

Kim Sung-joon of Gwangju Jeil High School, who received the attention of baseball fans due to Lee Do-ryu, signed a contract with the Texas Rangers in May, and since then, Seo Moon-joon has also declared to go to the U.S., so he did not participate in the KBO rookie draft.

Clubs that failed to recruit Loki Sasaki (LA Dodgers) tended to focus their investment on Korean prospects this time as they were able to spend money on overseas scouting because amateur recruitment funds remained.

So Moon Jae-joon was able to achieve his dream of entering the U.S. for a large amount of $1.5 million, and Park Joon-hyun, who turned to KBO at the last minute and was named the No. 1 Kiwoom Heroes, also reportedly received a large down payment from the Major League club.

The departures of Moon Jae-jun and Park Jun-hyun were divided into the U.S. and South Korea. The difference in down payment is also about three times larger. I wonder how top-class prospects, including Kim Seo-joon, will decide to enter the U.S. and stay in Korea in the future.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.