Dodgers GM Pays Hyeseong Kim Ultimate Compliment

Given all that Hyeseong Kim has done for the Dodgers this month, it's remarkable to think the rookie did not make his regular season debut until May 3.

Kim, 26, is hitting .366 with a .395 on-base percentage and .463 slugging percentage in 19 games through Wednesday. He's seen time at three different positions — second base, shortstop, and center field.

The Dodgers' front office believed in Kim's performance enough to cut utility man Chris Taylor, the team's longest-tenured position player who was a mainstay on their 2020 and 2024 World Series championship teams.

Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes discussed Kim's evolution from the start of spring training Sunday with MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.

"He’s done an amazing job from Day 1," Gomes said of Kim. "He’s put in so much work from the time that we signed him until spring training to put his swing in a better place. As well as he’s performed, we feel like there’s a whole other level he can get to. He’s a really dynamic player."

Kim's batting stats are eye-popping. But since Tommy Edman returned from the injured list, Kim's ability as a pinch-hitter, pinch-runner, and late-game defensive replacement will be tested more. Gomes expressed his faith in Kim's abilities there, too.

"I think the defense and speed is excellent," Gomes said. "Actually feel pretty strongly he’s going to end up being a good center fielder, as well."

Gomes also praised Kim's intangibles, calling him "the most likable guy I’ve ever been around" — the ultimate compliment coming from an executive who spent 10 seasons pitching in professional baseball.

"There’s just this amazing energy — always got a smile on his face, and you can just tell the love that he has for the game, and getting to come out to the ballpark everyday," Gomes said of Kim. "It’s just a nice injection of energy for a group that is quite veteran and they’ve won championships, they’ve done it all. Has the balance in there to keep everybody young and high energy.”

The Dodgers added several high-profile free agents on the heels of their 2024 World Series championship. While Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell have spent much of this season on the rehab trail, and Michael Conforto has been a sub-replacement level player for the first two months of the season, Kim's early-season performance has been the most encouraging of the bunch.

That's not a sentence anyone was expecting to read in March, but it counts as a pleasant surprise for Kim and the Dodgers.