Hyeseong Kim is Officially Available. Let's Review Why Cubs Might Want Him.

[Matthew Trueblood]

The speedy, smooth-fielding Korean infielder must sign with an MLB team by Jan. 3, 2025. The Cubs should at least give him a call.

Image courtesy of © Mandi Wright-Imagn Images

Three weeks ago, I wrote about why Hyeseong Kim could be a great fit for the Cubs this winter. Now, the second baseman has been officially posted by the Kiwoom Heroes, for whom he's played the last six seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization. He will have 30 days to sign with an MLB team, with the team who acquires him paying a posting fee to Kiwoom in the process. With a few moves already under the front office's belt in the time since the article linked above came out, let's revisit the argument for signing Kim and determine the extent to which he remains a good option.

 

In short, both Nico Hoerner and Isaac Paredes are right-handed batters, and Paredes, in particular, has always sported significant platoon splits. Kim, who will turn 26 next month, is a left-handed hitter who's most likely to profile as a second baseman in the big leagues, but he should be capable of sliding over to third at least occasionally. Alternatively, the team could ask Hoerner to pick up some reps at third. In either case, the idea would be to reduce the playing time of both Paredes and Hoerner by about 30 percent, with all of that time coming out of their at-bats against right-handed pitchers. Kim would balance the lineup with what seems to be a high-end contact-and-plate discipline profile from the left side, boosted by good speed. He's light on power and would be a bottom-third hitter in a good lineup, but that's fine. Given the value he would provide with his glove and legs, he'd only need to show solid OBP skills against righties to be an especially useful player in the Cubs' circumstance.

With Mike Tauchman out the door via non-tender, the lane for adding a medium-cost left-handed batter who heavily favors OBP over slugging in terms of value has only grown wider. Now that we know with some certainty that the team intends to spend slightly less than they did last year, the modestness of Kim's price tag should carry some extra appeal. Signing him could still be part of a complex of moves that involves sending out Hoerner (in addition to the more likely trade of Cody Bellinger), to save some money and ensure financial flexibility, but it would work just fine to bring Kim aboard merely as the 10th regular on the roster, akin to the role Tauchman ended up playing in the injury-riddled early stages of 2024 for the team—only he should be even more valuable than Tauchman, overall.

It will be interesting to see where the bidding goes on Kim. Even by the lower standards of KBO, his batted-ball data didn't blow people away, so much of his value in MLB figures to hinge on sustaining great strikeout and walk rates. No one think he's a viable shortstop in the majors; he'll have his market constricted by the widespread belief that he's a second baseman. On the other hand, he had a power surge his last two years in the KBO, splitting plenty of gaps. He's younger than most free agents teams get a chance to sign. He could end up signing a deal as long as five years, but with an annual average value well under $10 million. If that be the case, despite their usual aversion to long-term commitments, the Cubs should at least stay involved.

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