Kim Hye-sung "Now that I've signed a contract"... Choosing a thorny path, starting a great challenge
Kim Hye-sung "Now that I've signed a contract"... Choosing a thorny path, starting a great challenge
Blog Article
Kim Hye-sung (26) has decided to take the toughest path in the Major League Baseball. Attention is focusing on whether he will be able to show a twist like "role model" Kim Ha-sung.
Kim Hye-sung delivered the news of the contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the early morning of the 4th (Korea Standard Time), a few hours before the deadline for posting (closed competitive bidding). U.S. media such as ESPN and CBS Sports said, "The Dodgers signed a three-year, $12.5 million (18.4 billion won) contract with Kim Hye-sung. It includes a team option that can be extended for two years (2028, 2029) and is a maximum of $22 million (32.4 billion won) contract."
The Dodgers is a prestigious team that represents MLB. It had the most wins (25 times) in the National League, and acquired Superstar Shohei Ohtani to win its eighth World Series title since its foundation by beating the New York Yankees in the 2024 season. It was also a team that received a lot of support from Korean baseball fans as representative pitchers such as "Korean Express" Park Chan-ho (retired) and "Monster" Ryu Hyun-jin (currently Hanwha Eagles).
Kim Hye-sung starts her U.S. career with the Dodgers. There are more concerns than expected. This is because a formidable competition for survival awaits.
Kim Hye-sung's main position is second baseman. Currently, the main player of the Dodgers is Gavin Lux. He was a promising player who was nominated in the first round (2016) and was raised by the Dodgers Farm System. He was sluggish in the first half of the 2024 season due to injury, but displayed his potential to make another leap forward by hitting 0.302 and seven home runs in the second half of the season. He is also a left-handed hitter like Kim He-sung and is recognized for his high slugging capability.
Former backup second baseman Chris Taylor is strong in defense. He also has batting capability that can expect more than 10 home runs. He is also highly motivated as he is in the final season of his contract with the Dodgers. Taylor, who has a high salary of 13 million U.S. dollars, can hardly be left on the bench for long.
Miguel Rojas, who has given up his starting shortstop position to Mookie Betts, is also expected to enter the race. Originally regarded as a professional defensive player, he contributed greatly to his team's offense by recording a batting average of 0.287 in the 2024 season. He is also the leader of the Dodgers clubhouse.
Tommy Edman, a mixed-race Korean-American player, is also a potential contender. The utility player is expected to play the starting center fielder for the 2025 season, but his MLB career, which has the most innings (2279) as a second baseman, cannot be ignored. Edman and Kim also competed for the starting second baseman in the 2023 World Baseball Classic national team. 토토사이트
"The average annual salary of MLB in 2023 was 4.9 million dollars," MLB expert commentator Song Jae-woo said. "Considering the size of the contract with the Dodgers and the competition between the current infielders, it is true that Kim Hye-sung (not Ko Yeon-bong) is in front of the thorny road." "At present, Ohtani is the only one who can expect a lot of stolen bases in the Dodgers fielders. If Kim Hye-sung proves his strength in the spring camp, he will be able to enter the opening roster. Since then, he will have to take away the playing time of Lux and Taylor as much as possible."
A total of five teams, including the Dodgers, reportedly offered Kim a recruitment. Some teams offered a higher price based on the total amount of money than the Dodgers, and others seemed to be in a more competitive position to become a starting pitcher. As Kim signed a contract with the Dodgers, she failed to veto the Minor League.
"Kim Hye-sung received a lot of advice last month when he spent time with Ohtani (a member of the same agency) at a training site in LA. Dodgers officials also presented their vision. Kim gave more meaning to conditions for challenging and growing than to make money," said an official at her agency CAA. In fact, Ohtani posted a picture of her on social media with the words "Welcome, my friend" engraved on it in Korean right after the announcement of her contract.
Kim Ha-sung, who is currently the starting infielder of the MLB, also played a role in backing up Fernando Tatis Jr. (striker) and Jake Cronenworth (second baseman) in the debut season (2021). The prospects for making a leap forward were not bright either. However, he proved his defense ability by filling in the absence of Tatis Jr. in the next year, and after he had more chances to play in the Major League, his batting performance improved.
Kim Hye-sung is also in a similar situation to his senior Kim Ha-sung, who he has been using as a role model since the first year of his challenge on the U.S. stage. Kim Hye-sung's 2025 move is drawing attention. Kim Hye-sung, who contacted this newspaper after the contract was announced, said, "Now that I've finished the contract, I'll prepare hard and do well (in the U.S.) in baseball."