Dodgers Open January Switch Market, Signal Hye-seong Kim From KBO

One other 12 months, one other star from certainly one of 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 wherein he posted a 118 wRC+ and stole 30 bases, with profession bests in dwelling runs, RBI, strikeout charge, and slugging proportion.

What’s the value for this golden Adonis of an infielder? Simply $12.5 million assured over three years, plus a $2.5 million launch price as a result of Kim’s outdated membership. And if the Dodgers like what they see, they’ll hold Kim for an one other two seasons — 2028 and 2029 — for a further $9.5 million.

How do they hold getting away with this?

In case you couldn’t inform by the best way I used to be pouring issues on just a little thick up there, Kim’s star standing may not survive the journey throughout the Pacific. That profession excessive in dwelling runs I used to be speaking about? Eleven. And that’s the primary time Kim has reached double digits in his profession, regardless of taking part in no less than 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 just lately as 2022, that ratio was virtually 5-to-1.

I’m attempting to not overuse “he’ll get the bat knocked out of his fingers,” 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 dwelling runs and 34 extra-base hits per season in his MLB profession, with a wRC+ of 101.

However Ha-Seong Kim hit no less than 19 dwelling 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 large league energy, he’s actually going to have to begin consuming his spinach. It might 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 pair of) don’t care that a lot.

Kim is purportedly an distinctive defensive second baseman who needs to be able to taking part in an MLB-caliber shortstop as effectively. He may run — for proof, think about his seven consecutive seasons of 20 or extra stolen bases, with a profession excessive of 46 and a profession success charge of 85.4%. So he can run, he doesn’t strike out a lot, and let’s assume he’s a superb glove up the center. Is that this… Isiah Kiner-Falefa in a superb 12 months?

That’d sound underwhelming to some, however think about the context. The Dodgers can’t solely afford at hand out assured multi-year contracts to their utility infielders, they do it routinely. They usually sort of must.

To be able to adjust to league guidelines for the standard gameday roster, the Dodgers must discipline no less than 11 place gamers. They’ve to hold no less than 25 whole gamers (out of a most of 26), of whom not more than 13 may be pitchers, and since Shohei Ohtani is a two-way participant, he doesn’t depend towards that whole. These gamers have to return from the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, and since your common Dodgers pitcher will get his UCL swapped out extra steadily 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 discipline 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 high prospect Diego Cartaya bought DFA’d to make room for Kim.)

That leaves the 2 center infield positions, heart discipline, 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 no less than one begin in 2024.

Betts and Edman are must-starts, someplace. And may a beginning job open up decrease down the defensive spectrum, Betts can slide again into proper discipline or Edman can play third with out being a big sucking nullity in the midst of the lineup. That makes backup in the midst of the infield helpful to the Dodgers, whose current choices are both outdated or doubtlessly helpful commerce bait. (For these of you conserving 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 taking part in an honest 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 price — 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 method 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 unhealthy.

I’ll spare a second for the corresponding roster transfer right here, since you’re most likely 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 wish 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 pink flags yow will discover:

After he slashed a disappointing .189/.278/.379 at Double-A Tulsa, Cartaya received FanGraphs’ 2023 Resolve-Testing Catcher of the Yr award, a honor beforehand bestowed upon Bo Naylor, Henry Davis, and MJ Melendez. A number of the underlying hit instrument points that Cartaya carried out regardless of throughout earlier seasons grew to become untenable in 2023, as upper-level opposing pitchers executed to the areas he struggles to cowl, that are copious.

I depend 5 pink flags:

1. Sub-Mendoza Line Double-A batting common
2. “Resolve-Testing Catcher of the Yr” award
3. Adjoining references to Davis and Melendez
4. The massive one: “underlying hit instrument points”
5. “Copious,” when used to explain struggles

I’ll give half a flag for “grew to become 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 music.

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 listing, which went out across the time he bought 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 stage? Properly, seems it will get you chop.

Particularly for the reason that Dodgers solely have room to hold 15 place gamers.