Hyeseong Kim is a Los Angeles Dodger for at least the next three years — at the expense of his own bank account.
Kim reportedly turned down a larger guarantee from the Los Angeles Angels — $28 million — in favor of the Dodgers' three-year, $12.5 million offer that can reportedly grow to five years and $22 million if the team exercises a contract option for 2028 and 2029.
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According to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News, the Angels offered Kim $28 million over five years, while the Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, and San Diego Padres reportedly made offers to Kim as well.
Been able to confirm with CAA that Kim has signed with #Dodgers for 3 yrs/$12.5M plus option for 2 yrs that would allow him to make $22M total.
Also confirmed that the Angels did offer Kim 5yr/$28M deal, and Mariners, Cubs, Padres were other teams with an offer for Kim.
Kim was posted by his team in the Korea Baseball Organization, the Kiwoom Heroes, in December. His deadline to decide on signing with a Major League Baseball team or returning to the KBO was 5 p.m. ET Friday.
Kim, who turns 26 this month, is coming off a 2024 season in which he slashed .326/.383/.458 with career-best marks in home runs (11) and strikeout rate (10.9 percent). Primarily a second baseman in KBO, Kim has also played shortstop in his professional career.
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Kim batted .304 in eight seasons in the KBO, with a .364 on-base percentage, .403 slugging percentage, and 211 stolen bases. In 2021, Kim stole a career-high 46 bases in 50 attempts in 144 games.
The Dodgers' interest in Kim only grew when seeing him on the other side of the field in a March 2024 exhibition game in Seoul.
Dave Roberts on Hyeseong Kim in March '24, after the #Dodgers played the Korean national team in Seoul:
"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,"
"Our scouts like the second baseman: just the way his body moves," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters at the time. "There's some life to the bat and defensively, he made a nice play out there."
With the Angels, Kim would have been an obvious upgrade to a lineup that ranked 28th in MLB in batting average in 2024. Second base was a particular sore spot. Brandon Drury, the Opening Day starter at the position, finished the season with a .169 average.
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The Angels used their first-round selection last July on a college second baseman, Christian Moore. Signing Kim would have allowed Moore time to develop in the minor leagues.
Now the Angels — as well as the Cubs, Padres and Mariners — will need to go back to their offseason drawing boards. The defending World Series champions, meanwhile, just got stronger.
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