One other 12 months, one other star from one in all Asia’s main leagues comes over to play in Los Angeles. KBO infielder Hye-seong Kim is buying and selling his burgundy Kiwoom Heroes uniform for Dodger blue. Kim, who turns 26 on the finish of this month, has received 4 straight KBO Golden Glove Awards — one at shortstop, three at second base. He involves the USA after a 12 months during which he posted a 118 wRC+ and stole 30 bases, with profession bests in house runs, RBI, strikeout price, and slugging proportion.
What’s the worth for this golden Adonis of an infielder? Simply $12.5 million assured over three years, plus a $2.5 million launch charge resulting from Kim’s outdated membership. And if the Dodgers like what they see, they will preserve Kim for an one other two seasons — 2028 and 2029 — for an extra $9.5 million.
How do they preserve getting away with this?
In case you couldn’t inform by the best way I used to be pouring issues on slightly thick up there, Kim’s star standing may not survive the journey throughout the Pacific. That profession excessive in house runs I used to be speaking about? Eleven. And that’s the primary time Kim has reached double digits in his profession, regardless of enjoying at the least 120 video games in every of the previous seven seasons. His ISO final 12 months was simply .132, additionally a profession excessive. Kim hit two grounders for each fly ball in 2024; as not too long ago as 2022, that ratio was virtually 5-to-1.
I’m making an attempt to not overuse “he’ll get the bat knocked out of his arms,” but when ever there have been a time to place a greenback within the swear jar, it’s for the 5-foot-10, 172-pound Kim. Not each undersized Korean infielder suffers from a troubling lack of thump; Kim’s former Heroes teammate, the equally named Ha-Seong Kim, become a reasonably good hitter after signing with the Padres (albeit after a reasonably tough rookie 12 months). Ha-Seong Kim has averaged 12 house runs and 34 extra-base hits per season in his MLB profession, with a wRC+ of 101.
However Ha-Seong Kim hit at the least 19 house runs in all six of his full KBO seasons, and topped out at 30 in his stroll 12 months. If Hye-seong Kim desires to develop credible massive league energy, he’s actually going to have to begin consuming his spinach. It may occur — Freddy Galvis had two 20-homer seasons, for God’s sake — however it’s unlikely within the excessive.
Judging by Kim’s contract, and the state of the remainder of the Dodgers’ roster, I believe that Andrew Friedman and his lieutenants 1) already know this, and a couple of) don’t care that a lot.
Kim is purportedly an distinctive defensive second baseman who must be able to enjoying an MLB-caliber shortstop as properly. He can even run — for proof, contemplate his seven consecutive seasons of 20 or extra stolen bases, with a profession excessive of 46 and a profession success price of 85.4%. So he can run, he doesn’t strike out a lot, and let’s assume he’s glove up the center. Is that this… Isiah Kiner-Falefa in 12 months?
That’d sound underwhelming to some, however contemplate the context. The Dodgers cannot solely afford handy out assured multi-year contracts to their utility infielders, they do it routinely. And so they type of should.
So as to adjust to league guidelines for the standard gameday roster, the Dodgers should subject at the least 11 place gamers. They’ve to hold at the least 25 complete gamers (out of a most of 26), of whom not more than 13 will be pitchers, and since Shohei Ohtani is a two-way participant, he doesn’t depend towards that complete. These gamers have to come back from the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, and since your common Dodgers pitcher will get his UCL swapped out extra incessantly than I rotate the tires on my Subaru, Los Angeles is presently devoting 25 40-man roster spots to pitchers, not counting Ohtani. A few of these spots will get cleared up as soon as the 60-day IL comes again into play subsequent month — presumably, that is when the Dodgers will re-sign Clayton Kershaw — however proper now, the Dodgers barely have sufficient place gamers to subject a gameday squad.
Ohtani has DH locked down. Freddie Freeman has first base locked down. If each of these guys are within the lineup, Max Muncy has to play third whereas Teoscar Hernández and Michael Conforto man the outfield corners (assuming that the Dodgers didn’t give Conforto $17 million to play the lengthy finish of a platoon). Catcher goes to Will Smith, with perpetual backup Austin Barnes behind him and Hunter Feduccia as a Triple-A standby. (Former prime prospect Diego Cartaya received DFA’d to make room for Kim.)
That leaves the 2 center infield positions, middle subject, and three bench spots to be divided amongst eight gamers. Right here they’re, listed with their ages (as of Opening Day), 2025 salaries, and the positions the place they made at the least one begin in 2024.
The Eight Different Guys
| Participant | Age | Wage | Bats | PA | wRC+ | Place(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mookie Betts | 32 | $30.4M | R | 516 | 141 | 2B, SS, RF |
| Hye-seong Kim* | 26 | $2.8M | L | 567 | 118 | 2B |
| Miguel Rojas | 36 | $5.0M | R | 337 | 111 | 2B, 3B, SS |
| Gavin Lux | 27 | $2.7M | L | 487 | 100 | 2B |
| Andy Pages | 24 | Pre-ARB | R | 443 | 100 | LF, CF, RF |
| Tommy Edman | 29 | $8.4M | S | 153 | 98 | SS, CF |
| Chris Taylor | 34 | $13.0M | R | 246 | 74 | 2B, 3B, LF, CF |
| James Outman | 27 | Pre-ARB | L | 156 | 54 | CF |
*Kim’s stats in KBO
Betts and Edman are must-starts, someplace. And will a beginning job open up decrease down the defensive spectrum, Betts can slide again into proper subject or Edman can play third with out being a big sucking nullity in the course of the lineup. That makes backup in the course of the infield helpful to the Dodgers, whose present choices are both outdated or doubtlessly helpful commerce bait. (For these of you retaining observe, David Bote is with the Dodgers now, albeit on a minor-league contract with a spring coaching invite.)
Can the Dodgers survive with Kim enjoying a good shortstop and never offering a lot offensively? Look no additional than Rojas for the reply. The Dodgers gave the previous Marlin $15 million over three years — i.e. precisely the identical worth they’re paying for Kim, together with posting charge — whereas he was coming off a 68 wRC+ in his age-33 season. Rojas hit .236/.290/.322 in his first season again with Los Angeles and nonetheless managed to make his means into 125 video games that 12 months.
The Dodgers have dedicated $12.5 million to Kim, however they have already got $100 million, give or take, dedicated to Taylor, Rojas, and Edman — not counting what they’ve already paid these gamers. The Dodgers have extra money dedicated to gamers who can credibly be referred to as “utility infielders” than the Marlins, A’s, and White Sox have dedicated to all their gamers put collectively from now till the tip of time.
So this isn’t one other franchise-altering signing from one of many league’s richest groups. That is the Dodgers including depth to a roster made up virtually totally of shortstops and designated hitters, with little in between. They’re discovering the subsequent Rojas earlier than their present one goes dangerous.
I’ll spare a second for the corresponding roster transfer right here, since you’re in all probability questioning what the heck occurred to Cartaya.
Cartaya was the no. 22 prospect in baseball earlier than the 2023 season — others in that neighborhood included Josh Jung, Brandon Pfaadt, Grayson Rodriguez, and Kyle Harrison, only for context. Even after a brutal 2023 marketing campaign, Eric Longenhagen rated him the third-best prospect within the Dodgers’ system final 12 months, as a result of catchers who can hit are so vanishingly uncommon. So I need to play a recreation with you actual fast. I’ll quote the primary two sentences of Eric’s write-up, and also you see what number of crimson flags you could find:
After he slashed a disappointing .189/.278/.379 at Double-A Tulsa, Cartaya received FanGraphs’ 2023 Resolve-Testing Catcher of the 12 months award, a honor beforehand bestowed upon Bo Naylor, Henry Davis, and MJ Melendez. A few of the underlying hit device points that Cartaya carried out despite throughout earlier seasons turned untenable in 2023, as upper-level opposing pitchers executed to the areas he struggles to cowl, that are copious.
I depend 5 crimson flags:
-
1. Sub-Mendoza Line Double-A batting common
2. “Resolve-Testing Catcher of the 12 months” award
3. Adjoining references to Davis and Melendez
4. The massive one: “underlying hit device points”
5. “Copious,” when used to explain struggles
I’ll give half a flag for “turned untenable,” which all the time appears to be utilized in an ominous context. Like, you’re extra prone to discover the phrase “untenable” within the first chapter of a e book concerning the collapse of a dam than within the first verse of a love tune.
So what occurred in any case that setup? Extra of the identical, sadly. Cartaya slipped to thirteenth within the midseason replace of the Dodgers prospect checklist, which went out across the time he received promoted to Triple-A. In 49 video games there, Cartaya hit .208/.293/.350, which might be downright competent by the requirements of main league catchers, however that is in a league the place a wRC+ of 100 interprets to an OPS over .800. Hitting .208 at that degree? Properly, seems it will get you chop.
Particularly for the reason that Dodgers solely have room to hold 15 place gamers.
