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Dodgers Sign 25-Year-Old Hyeseong Kim to Potential Five-Year, $22 Million Deal Before Deadline

Jan 3, 2025, 07:41 PM

The Los Angeles Dodgers have reached an agreement with Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim on a three-year contract worth $12.5 million, with options for 2028-29 that could extend the deal to five years and a total value of $22 million, according to multiple reports including MLB.com's Jon Heyman and Mark Feinsand. Kim, 25, has spent eight seasons with the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), where he batted .304 over his career, including .326 last season with 30 stolen bases. Primarily a second baseman who also plays shortstop, Kim offers versatility to the Dodgers' infield as they enter the 2025 season. The Dodgers reportedly swooped in just hours before Kim's posting deadline, securing his signature despite a five-year, $28 million offer from the Los Angeles Angels. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts previously praised Kim in March 2024 after playing against the Korean national team, noting, "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." Reports also indicate that Shohei Ohtani, a fellow client of CAA, met with Kim in the U.S. and "gave him a lot of advice."