The Los Angeles Dodgers added to their middle infield with the signing of Hyeseong Kim to a three-year, $12.5 million contract that includes a two-year team option for the 2028 and 2029 seasons.
Kim joins the Dodgers after spending the last eight seasons in the Korean Baseball League. He played six of those with the Kiwoom Heroes and won three KBO Fielding Awards from 2021-2023 while playing four different positions.
The Dodgers played against Kim during exhibition games in South Korea last year and came away impressed.
“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.”
While Kim had a nice showing against the Dodgers, it wasn’t necessarily the deciding factor for the team signing him.
“It doesn’t,” general manager Brandon Gomes answered when asked if seeing Kim’s performance in person created more motivation for the Dodgers to sign him.
“It obviously was eye-popping to watch the way he moved and what he did against us. I think that can be a real trap with scouting of, ‘I saw him, so I have an immediate bias.’ I think we all try — especially if you only have one look at a guy — to not let that outweigh anything.
“It’s something we’re cognizant of. I don’t think it placed more of an emphasis, but it was more like total package and hearing from our scouts and coaches of what we think he could be.”
Dodgers infield plans after Hyeseong Kim signing
The Dodgers’ signing of Kim raised some questions over their middle infield plans for the 2025 season. However, Gomes indicated that the Dodgers remain committed to Gavin Lux at second base and Mookie Betts as their shortstop.
“Like we’ve said all along, continuing to add talent and build a balanced lineup to go out and repeat is our goal. We feel like we’ve taken steps and will continue to take steps toward doing that,” Gomes said.
Barring a trade, Kim presumably will fill a utility role for the Dodgers this year.
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