Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Hyeseong Kim has a chance to improve his game and help an aging roster.
Hyeseong Kim’s disappointing 2026 season
Kim played only 43 big-league games this year, stepping in when Mookie Betts went down with an oblique injury early in the season.
He ended the year with a .259/.323/.328 line, with just one home run and 11 RBIs, while striking out 31 times and walking 12.
As a bottom-of-the-order hitter with good defense and the ability to hit in key moments, Kim could fill a role.
However, once Betts got healthy, along with other utility players like Tommy Edman and Kike Hernandez, Kim became redundant.
Alex Freeland ultimately earned the final end-of-the-roster spot because he was a prospect playing well in Triple-A.
Kim, meanwhile, was not impressive in Triple-A, hitting .262/.330/.345 and once again struggling with strikeouts and not getting on base enough.
His lack of production kept him off the roster until the NLDS, when he made the roster as a pinch hitter and defensive option.
He appeared in only a series, as the team dropped him from the NLCS roster to make room for another pitcher.
2026 didn’t go as expected for Kim, who hoped to keep a spot on the active roster all year, but 2027 offers another chance at a clean slate and a fresh look.
How can 2027 be different for Kim?
Looking ahead, the Dodgers need an injection of youth and speed. Kim is about to turn 28, while offering a strong athletic profile with speed and a quality glove.
For Kim to fill a role on the team, his hitting approach needs to improve—the Dodgers need him to get on base enough for his speed to matter.
Increasing his walk rate, striking out less, and making contact more often would make Kim a real weapon for the Dodgers, possibly in the mold of someone like Chandler Simpson.
Simpson, an archetype rarely seen in modern MLB, shows that high-contact speedsters with quality defense can still be key pieces on World Series-contending teams; look no further than the Tampa Bay Rays.
If he can put the ball in play more often and strike out less, Kim can fill that role and add a new dimension to the Dodgers.
2027 is his final year before arbitration, when his cost will rise, and the Dodgers will need to make a tough decision about his future.
This makes the offseason vital to grow or be left in the baseball wilderness.