KBO All-Star Kim Hye-seong signs with Dodgers
In this file photo from Sept. 26, 2024, Kim Hye-seong of the Kiwoom Heroes hits safely against the LG Twins during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Jamsil Field in Seoul. Newsis
Korean All-Star infielder Kim Hye-seong has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kim's agency, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), said Saturday Kim agreed to a three-year deal worth $12.5 million, with an option for two more years that would give him a chance to make up to $22 million in total.
A CAA official said the Los Angeles Angels had offered Kim a five-year deal for $28 million, with the Seattle Mariners, the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres also sending him offers. But Kim ultimately chose the 2024 World Series champions, where he will be joined by MVP winners Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Clayton Kershaw.
The Dodgers announced the deal later in the day, saying the contract has a club option for 2028-2029.
To make room for Kim on their 40-man roster, the Dodgers designated former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya for assignment.
Kim had been posted for Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs on Dec. 4 and his 30-day negotiating window was set to close at 5 p.m. Eastern Time Friday, or 7 a.m. Saturday in Korea.
The deal signed hours before the deadline makes Kim the ninth Korean player to sign with an MLB team via posting.
Kim spent the previous eight years with the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). He is the fifth player from the Heroes to land an MLB contract through posting, joining Kang Jung-ho (Pittsburgh Pirates), Park Byung-ho (Minnesota Twins), Kim Ha-seong (San Diego Padres) and Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants).
Last year, Kim Hye-seong set career highs with 11 home runs, 75 RBIs and a .458 slugging percentage. Kim batted .326 for his fourth consecutive .300 season and swiped 30 bags, his seventh consecutive year with at least 20 steals.
Kim, who made his KBO debut in 2017 and became a regular the following year, has a career batting line of .304/.364/.403 with 211 steals — the most in the KBO since 2018 — in 953 games.
Kim, named the national high school hitter of the year in 2016, was drafted by the Heroes in the second round that same year.
He split his early years playing second base, shortstop and third base, with brief cameos in left field and right field. Then in 2021, Kim took over at shortstop after Kim Ha-seong left for the Padres.
Kim Hye-seong became a full-time second baseman in 2022, logging just eight games total at shortstop since then and none in 2024.
He won the Golden Glove, an award typically given to the best hitter at each position, at shortstop in 2021, and captured three straight Golden Gloves at second base from 2022 to 2024.
The KBO created the Fielding Award in 2023 to recognize defensive excellence, and Kim won the first two editions of the award at second base.
Kim apparently got on the Dodgers' radar in March last year, after they played the Korean national team in an exhibition in Seoul before facing the San Diego Padres to open the 2024 season.
After watching Kim play strong defense at second base and scorching a double off right-hander Bobby Miller, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, "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."
The Dodgers have a surplus of middle infielders, and Kim, if he does make their Opening Day roster, will likely slot in as a utility player.
The Dodgers plan on having Betts as their starting shortstop. Gold Glove-winning Tommy Edman can handle both second base and shortstop, too, though he mostly played center field after joining them in the second half of 2024. Gavin Lux was the Dodgers' primary second baseman last year.
Kim will have an uphill battle to make the deep Dodgers team, since his contract doesn't include a clause allowing him to refuse an assignment to the minors, per CAA.
The Dodgers are one of the most popular MLB clubs in Korea, thanks to their long history with Korean players.
In 1994, former pitcher Park Chan-ho became the first Korean player in MLB history when he debuted with the Dodgers. In the ensuing years, infielder Choi Hee-seop and pitcher Seo Jae-weong also played for the LA team.
Left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin signed with the Dodgers via posting before the 2013 season and played with them until 2019. In that final season as a Dodger, Ryu led the majors with a 2.32 ERA, finished second in the National League Cy Young Award voting, and started the All-Star Game.
The Dodgers had a Korean pitching prospect, Choi Hyun-il, from 2019 to 2024, before losing him to the Washington Nationals in the Rule 5 Draft last month. Choi reached Triple-A last year.
In August 2023, the Dodgers signed a highly touted Korean high school pitcher Jang Hyun-seok, who split the 2024 season between Rookie ball and Single-A.
After opening the 2024 season in Seoul, the Dodgers are scheduled to begin the 2025 season with a two-game set against the Cubs in Tokyo on March 18-19.
Per an agreement between the KBO and MLB, KBO clubs that send a player to MLB through posting receive a "release fee," the amount of which depends on the guaranteed portion of the player's contract.
The fee is 20 percent of the first $25 million. Because the guaranteed value of Kim's contract is under $25 million, the Heroes will receive 20 percent of his $12.5 million.
Kim also has an option for two additional years. The Heroes will receive an additional 15 percent of whatever salary or bonuses Kim earns in those optional years. (Yonhap)