The Los Angeles Dodgers have reportedly inked a deal with infielder Hyeseong Kim, securing his services for the next three seasons. The agreement, reported by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, guarantees Kim $12.5 million, with the potential to escalate to $22 million if a two-year option for the 2028 and 2029 seasons is exercised.
Major League Baseball teams were granted the opportunity to negotiate a contract with Kim following his posting on December 5th. The deadline for finalizing such deals was set for 5 p.m. ET on Friday.
Kim, a 25-year-old talent who has showcased his skills over the past six seasons with the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes, emerged as the first player from South Korea and Japan to be posted this offseason. Notably, he has been refining his game in Los Angeles for the previous month.
As a left-handed hitter, Kim is coming off a standout season with the Heroes, amassing 11 home runs, 75 RBIs, 30 stolen bases, and an impressive .326 batting average. This marked his fourth consecutive season hitting over .300 and his seventh consecutive season boasting at least 20 stolen bases. Throughout his eight-year career, Kim has maintained a slash line of .304/.364/.403 and has delivered 386 RBIs across 953 games. Notably, his 211 stolen bases since 2018 are the most by any KBO player during that time span.
Defensively, Kim’s prowess is underscored by his three-time KBO Fielding Award wins, with accolades coming in 2021 at shortstop and in 2022 and 2023 at second base.
After the Dodgers engaged in an exhibition match in March against a squad of Korean All-Stars, manager Dave Roberts offered glowing praise for Kim based on the insights provided by the team’s scouts. Roberts noted, “Our scouts like the second baseman: just the way his body moves. There’s some life to the bat and defensively (he) made a nice play out there. There’s good baseball players all over the world and so this is just another chance for us to see them and for them to match themselves against us.”
With the acquisition of Kim and the retention of Teoscar Hernández, the Dodgers now find themselves at the 40-man roster limit, necessitating a forthcoming roster adjustment. Mookie Betts is slated for shortstop duties, while Gavin Lux is set to man second base, positioning Kim to assume a pivotal utility role.
Kim’s signing with the Dodgers marks the fifth instance of a player from the Heroes making the leap to an MLB team, following in the footsteps of Kang Jung-ho (Pittsburgh Pirates), Park Byung-ho (Minnesota Twins), Ha-seong Kim (San Diego Padres), and Jung-hoo Lee (San Francisco Giants).
Had Kim not secured a deal with an MLB franchise, he would have returned to the Heroes,
