Twins hope Korean slugger brings thump to lineup

The Minnesota Twins Wednesday introduced their newest slugger, Byung-ho Park, the Korean baseball star who will play in Minneapolis next year.

Park, 29, is a former Korean MVP, Gold Glove winner and two-time all-star. Like Twins veteran Joe Mauer, he's a former catcher who's made a transition to first base. He had a .343 batting average and hit 53 homers last year.

Twins General Manager Terry Ryan told reporters he expects Park to settle in as the team's designated hitter.

"We're going to put Byung-ho at DH, and Joe's going to play first," he said. "We've got a pretty good situation here. That's some thump in our lineup that we are looking forward to seeing, and how it all comes together. We had trouble scoring runs last year."

The Twins paid nearly $13 million for the rights to negotiate with Park and signed him to a 4-year, $12 million deal.

Twins Vice President Mike Radcliff said he expects it to take some time for Park to make the move to American baseball.

"There will obviously be some transition. It's different hitting in Korea, playing in Korea," Radcliff said. "But I don't think the transition will be long and rigorous. I see him contributing next year, and I think we'll believe he'll get better and better over the course of his time with us."