The Los Angeles Dodgers won their final exhibition game ahead of the upcoming regular season opener, but one of Monday's biggest standouts was actually in the opposite dugout.
Hye-Seong Kim suited up for Team Korea, leading off in the lineup and starting at second base. He went 1-for-3 with a double off Dodgers starting pitcher Bobby Miller in the third inning, roping a 96 mile-per-hour fastball off the right field wall.
Kim's KBO team, the Kiwoom Heroes, confirmed in January that they would post the infielder to MLB free agency next offseason. By succeeding against MLB arm talent like Miller, Kim showed why he should be on big league teams' radar next winter.
And based on what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had to say after the game, he already is.
Roberts said that Los Angeles' scouts "like their second baseman" – referring to Kim – according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi.
The Dodgers have a history of making big splashes with international free agents, most recently signing Japanese superstars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in December. Los Angeles also inked left-handed pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu to a then-record contract when he left the KBO in 2012.
Kim is currently 25 years old, but he will be 26 by the time the 2025 season begins.
In addition to batting a career-best .335 in 2023, Kim added seven home runs, 57 RBI, 25 stolen bases and an .842 OPS. Kim is a .300 hitter since debuting in the KBO in 2017.
Per 162 games, Kim averages 172 hits, five home runs, 61 RBI and 35 stolen bases.
Kim was a member of Team Korea at the COVID-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He got 13 at-bats and finished the tournament with eight singles, one stolen base, one RBI and one strikeout.
At the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Kim went 1-for-2 with three walks, three runs, three RBI and one strikeout.
Kim is also an ace in the field, making KBO history by winning one Gold Glove as a shortstop and two as a second baseman. He played shortstop for the Heroes when future San Diego Padres standout Ha-Seong Kim was occupying second base, just before the latter left to join MLB.
Ha-Seong Kim and the Padres will take on the Dodgers in the two-game Seoul Series starting Wednesday. As for Hye-Seong Kim, he is a year away from facing off against an MLB team again, only next time he could be donning Dodger blue.
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