In an unexpected move, the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to terms with international free agent Hyeseong Kim from the Korean Baseball Organization just before his posting window closed.
Kim signed a three-year contract worth $12.5 million with team options for the 2028 and 2029 seasons that could bring the total value of the deal to $22 million.
The 25-year-old spent the last eight seasons in the Korean Baseball League, including six of those with the Kiwoom Heroes. Kim won numerous awards in that time, including three Gold Gloves, which recognizes the best overall players at their respective positions in the KBO.
Kim’s greatest attributes are his baserunning ability and defense. He became the KBO stolen base leader in 2021 after swiping 46 bases in 50 chances and notched 211 stolen bases since 2018, which is the most in the KBO during that six-year span.
Kim also has elite bat-to-ball skills, posting a batting average over .300 consistently during his time in Korea.
“I think you’re talking about a double-plus runner, a really good utility player that can play all over the diamond with some real upside to the bat,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said.
“Having seen him last year when we were in Korea and tracking him, the ability to add somebody with that talent plus upside, we feel like it’s a really good piece for us.”
Kim finished the 2024 season batting .326 with 11 homers, 30 stolen bases and 75 RBI in 127 games. Over six seasons with Kiwoom, he hit .309 with 32 homers, 280 stolen bases and 339 RBI.
Kim doesn’t have much power in his bat, and players from the KBO typically see a decline in production when making the jump to MLB, especially early in their careers.
However, the Dodgers view him as a player with upside to continue improving offensively by adding strength, working on his approach, and making some adjustments to his swing.
“I think there’s an ability to continue to add strength and there’s an approach standpoint and some moves that our hitting group sees that we could make some adjustments to him,” Gomes said. “He already has really good bat to ball (skills), which is a good foundation obviously.
“Being able to impact the ball a little bit more, ride out some offspeed pitches in a better. So there’s definitely some pieces there that we feel like we can address to tap into the upside.”
Immediate success should not be expected from Kim as the KBO equates closer in talent to a slight jump above Double-A, but many players from Korea have found success, including Shin-Soo Choo and Ha-Seong Kim.
But as he continues to gain experience and adjust to MLB pitching, Hyeseong Kim has the tools to become a solid contributor to a World Series club.
Hyeseong Kim impressed Dodgers during Seoul visit
The Dodgers played against Kim during exhibition games in South Korea last year and came away impressed with his ability.
“Our scouts like the second baseman (Kim), just the way his body moves, there’s some life to the bat and defensively he made a nice play out there,” manager Dave Roberts said at the time.
“There’s some good baseball players all over the world. This is just another chance for us to see them and them to kind of match themselves against us.”
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