Cody Snavely
Newly signed utility infielder Hyeseong Kim is on his way to the United States for the Los Angeles Dodgers to officially welcome the newest member of the team. Before that, Kim caught up with multiple Korean news outlets before his overnight flight to Phoenix, Arizona.
When it was reported by numerous Korean news outlets that Kim had inked a 3-year, $12.5 million deal, with options to extend it to a 5-year, $22 million deal, it sent shockwaves through Major League Baseball social media as not many have even considered linking the Dodgers to the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) star.
However, to the surprise of many, Kim stated that when he was officially posted by the Kiwoom Heroes in December, the Dodgers were the first team to contact him, something that Kim was grateful for.
It is not surprising, in hindsight, that the Dodgers were the first team to show interest in the Korean infielder. Just this past season, the team got a firsthand look prior to their series with the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea, playing multiple exhibition games with KBO teams, including the Kiwoom Heroes, where Kim impressed Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
One of the other major storylines of the signing was the supposed recruitment efforts of two-way superstar and three-time Most Valuable Player Shohei Ohtani, who had met Kim a few times throughout the winter.
While it wasn’t a full-on recruitment per se by Ohtani, the Japanese star had crossed paths with Kim, a fellow CAA client, whenever they met at the gym. Kim, to show respect to Ohtani, even learned some greetings in Japanese due to Ohtani making an effort to speak to Kim in Korean.
In the interview and on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ official roster page, we now know that Kim will wear number six, which Cavan Biggio last wore last season. During Kim’s time in the KBO, he wore number three and stated that he wanted to have a single-digit number. Since three was taken by fellow utility player Chris Taylor, six was the next best option.
Interestingly enough, Kim’s reasoning for taking number six and hoping to live up to past wearers such as Trea Turner shows how even in Korea, Kim had his eyes on the Dodgers, a team that he already stated in previous interviews was a team he grew up watching.
Kim was also asked about the Dodgers’ role for him, which is playing multiple positions. This is something he had not done in the past two years in the KBO, as he was a full-time second baseman.
I want to become a ball player who can play multiple positions, wherever the team puts me. It doesn’t matter where I play. I will try to be prepared for different positions
Kim also stated his goal for the upcoming season is to not only improve on his elite KBO numbers from last season when the left-handed hitter slashed .326/.383/.458, but also make the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster, which at this point in time with the Dodgers’ crowded roster is not a given.
All of these quotes and the transcript of the interview are courtesy of Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News Agency. Over the last several days, he has shed more light on the Dodgers’ acquisition of the KBO infielder.
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