Ji-hwan Bae
Ji-hwan Bae is a South Korean professional baseball center fielder and second baseman in the New York Mets organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2017, the Atlanta Braves announced the signing of Bae as a free agent. He made his MLB debut in 2022.
Amateur career
Bae represented South Korea at the 2017 U-18 Baseball World Cup. During the tournament, he hit for a.286 batting average with five RBIs, six runs scored, six walks and two stolen bases. In his final high school baseball season, Bae appeared in 27 games, hit.474, and received the as South Korea's best hitter at the high school level. Bae was projected to be a first round pick in the 2017 KBO League draft.Professional career
Atlanta Braves
On September 23, 2017, the Atlanta Braves announced the signing of Bae as a free agent. General manager John Coppolella claimed that Bae was the youngest Asian baseball player to sign with the Braves in nearly two decades. By joining the Braves, Bae would have become the second player since, who signed with the Chicago Cubs in 2015, to leave a South Korean high school directly for professional baseball in the United States. On November 21, 2017, Major League Baseball voided his contract with the Braves as a result of fraudulent contract negotiations. The New York Times reported that, although Bae had agreed to sign for $300,000, the Braves planned to pay him an additional $600,000 by reallocating money promised to other signees. The KBO League barred Bae from signing with any South Korean professional team for two years because he had skipped the KBO's draft to join the Braves organization, where he appeared with Atlanta's Florida Instructional League team.Pittsburgh Pirates
Minor leagues
On March 27, 2018, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Bae for a reported signing bonus of $1.25 million. Bae finished the 2019 season with the Greensboro Grasshoppers. He then played for Geelong-Korea in the Australian Baseball League during the offseason. Bae did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Bae was assigned to the Altoona Curve in 2021. At the Double-A level, he recorded a slash line of.278/.359/.413 with 12 doubles, five triples, seven homers and 31 RBI in 83 games. After the minor league season ended, Bae was assigned to the Peoria Javelinas and selected to the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game. Bae spent most of the 2022 season with the Indianapolis Indians, where he appeared in 108 games, slashed.289/.362/.430 with 23 doubles, six triples, eight home runs and 53 RBI.
Major leagues
On September 23, 2022, Bae made his major league debut. He started at second base for the Pirates in a game against the Chicago Cubs, was walked once, hit a single, and stole two bases. Bae made 10 appearances for Pittsburgh during his rookie campaign, going 11-for-33 with six RBI and three stolen bases.Bae made the Pirates' 2023 Opening Day roster. On April 4, 2023, he hit his first major league home run. In 111 total appearances for Pittsburgh, Bae batted.231/.296/.311 with two home runs, 32 RBI, and 24 stolen bases.
Bae began the 2024 season in the minor leagues, initially with Low-A Bradenton, on rehabilitation assignment for a muscle strain. The Pirates recalled Bae from Triple-A Indianapolis in May; Bae recorded his first MLB hit and RBI of the season on the same day: May 21, 2024. He played in 29 games for the Pirates during the year, slashing.189/.247/.216 with six RBI and six stolen bases.
Bae made the team's Opening Day roster in 2025, and was optioned to Indianapolis on April 3, 2025. He played in only 13 games for Pittsburgh, going 1-for-20 with four stolen bases. On November 4, the Pirates placed Bae on waivers.