The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Friday that they have agreed to terms with utility player Hyeseong Kim on a three-year contract for $12.5 million with a two-year club option for 2028 and 2029. To make room on the 40-man roster, the club designated catcher Diego Cartaya for assignment.
The 25-year-old Kim joins the Dodgers after spending the last eight seasons in the Korean Baseball League. He finished the 2024 season with the Kiwoom Heroes batting .326 with 11 homers, 30 stolen bases and 75 RBI over 127 games. He spent six seasons with Kiwoom, hitting .309 with 32 homers, 280 stolen bases and 339 RBI.
The lefty-hitting Kim was the KBO stolen base leader in 2021, swiping 46 bases in 50 chances and has notched 211 stolen bases since 2018, which is the most in the KBO during that six-year span. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder won three straight KBO Fielding Awards from 2021-23 while playing four different positions for Kiwoom.
Although considered a utility man, Kim was primarily a second baseman for Kiwoom over the last two seasons. In 2024, he played exclusively at the keystone in 119 games. In 2023, he started 126 games at second base and five games at shortstop. Kim hasn’t appeared in the outfield since 2020.
A native of South Korea, Kim started his professional career with Nexen in the KBO as an 18 year old in 2017, playing 152 games in two seasons and recording five homers and 47 RBI with the Heroes. He was part of the 2022 Asian Games, winning the Gold Medal for South Korea, slashing .292/.500/.370.
Cartaya has yet to play in the major leagues, but he has been a household name for Dodger fans for years. The Venezuela native was one of the best talents in his amateur signing class and earned a $2.5 million bonus back in 2018.
The release of such a highly touted catching prospect is certainly surprising, given that Cartaya was considered one of the Dodgers’ perennial top prospects and viewed as a blue-chipper at one point. This type of move often suggests a major shift in organizational evaluation, particularly after he hit around the Mendoza line across two levels last year and only .189/.278/.379 over 93 games exclusively at Double-A Tulsa in 2023.
The impact on the Los Angeles farm system is notable, as catching depth is always at a premium in baseball. Cartaya represented a significant international investment for the organization. This move likely elevates the importance of other catching prospects like Hunter Feduccia, Dalton Rushing and Jesus Galiz.
(Juan Dorado furnished some information provided in this report)