South Korean left-hander Yang Hyeon-jong will soon be posted for interested Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs, his current Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) team announced Monday.

The Kia Tigers said they will make the 26-year-old pitcher available in an MLB-wide silent auction this week. The Tigers said they notified the KBO, which in turn will inform MLB of Yang's status.

Following these formal steps, Yang will become the second KBO player to be posted this offseason, after left-handed pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun of the SK Wyverns. After Yang is posted, MLB teams have four business days to submit their bids.

Kim drew a bid of US$2 million from the San Diego Padres. The Wyverns accepted the bid, and the Padres and Kim have until Dec. 11 to work out a contract.

Yang completed his equivalent of seven full KBO seasons this year, making him a conditional free agent, a status that allows him to test foreign markets only with the Tigers' approval.

Yang has often said he'd like to pitch overseas after this year. He has signed on with MVP Sports Group, whose clientele includes Albert Pujols and Joey Votto, both former National League MVPs.

Yang is coming off the best season of his career. He matched his career-best marks with 16 wins and a 4.25 ERA, while setting a new career-high with 171 1/3 innings pitched and 165 strikeouts.

Yang ranked first among South Korean pitchers in wins and strikeouts this year. He trailed only Andy Van Hekken of the Nexen Heroes in the wins department, and Rick van den Hurk of the Samsung Lions and Van Hekken in strikeouts.

After the season, Yang grabbed the inaugural "Choi Dong-won Award," named after the late former All-Star right-hander who won the 1984 KBO MVP.

In the foreign media, the award has been referred to as the Korean equivalent of the Cy Young Award, but it only recognizes the best South Korean-born pitcher based on their win-loss records, ERA, strikeouts, quality starts and innings pitched.

Overall, Yang has gone 62-42 with a 4.33 ERA in 866 2/3 innings. He has struck out 748 and walked 455. He experienced some shoulder problems in 2011 and 2012.

The U.S. media have touted him as the best pitcher in the country who could even develop into a No. 2 starter in a big league rotation.

Yang has been getting decidedly more glowing reviews than Kim Kwang-hyun, though the two had similar seasons in 2014. Kim, the

2008 MVP in the KBO, is being projected as a middle reliever or a spot starter.

Yang is a four-pitch hurler who throws fastball at around 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour) and mixes it with slider, curve and changeup.

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers remains the only South Korean to jump from the KBO to the majors via posting. In 2012, Ryu, then with the Hanwha Eagles, drew a bid of more than $25.7 million from the Dodgers and then signed a six-year, $36 million contract. He's gone 28-15 with a 3.17 ERA in his first two big league seasons. (Yonhap)