To Add to Infield Without Subtracting, Cubs Could Pursue Free Agent Hyeseong Kim

Jed Hoyer made clear last week that he believes strongly in Isaac Paredes, despite the false start Paredes suffered upon his arrival in a trade with the Rays back in July. After all, the two-time All-Star stabilized nicely after that; he's still quite young; and the weather at Wrigley was crazy last summer. (Did you hear about this? Crazy. No one understands it.) Thus, while Hoyer was clear about his willingness to get "creative" this winter, he didn't sound like a man ready to splash big money around to upgrade his infield.

Upgrade it he must, though, because the Cubs are getting old at shortstop, and they need better balance and depth at second and third base. Paredes is worth believing in, to some extent, but his splits are as wide as Lake Shore Drive. For his career:

• vs. RHP: .218/.322/.411
• vs. LHP: .274/.366/.456

Meanwhile. Nico Hoerner is coming off a season in which he had to finish with an .870 OPS in September just to drag his seasonal OPS up to .708. He also had surgery on his forearm after the season. Oh, and that .708 OPS is virtually identical to his career mark against right-handed pitchers. There's a clear role available here. The Cubs need a left-handed hitter who can play solid defense at second and/or third base, and they need it to be someone considerably better than Miles Mastrobuoni, this time.

As it happens, there's just such a player available this winter, and he's one of the youngest free agents on the market, too. Hyeseong Kim—not to be confused with Ha-Seong Kim, to whom he is not related, although the two were once the double-play combo for the same team in the Korean Baseball Organization—won't turn 26 until late January, but he's going to be posted this winter by the Kiwoom Heroes, his current KBO team. Kim is a lefty batter and a lithe, speedy contact hitter, who batted .326/.383/.458 last season—and .335/.396/.446 in 2023.

He's played mostly at second base in the KBO, with some time spent at shortstop and just a smattering of reps at third, but he could acquit himself at the hot corner as needed. He's unlikely to hit for much power, but very likely to get on base at a good rate. Since 2021, he's run an OBP north of .370 every year, and while the KBO's offensive climate is warmer than MLB's (with an aggregate average OBP for the league just over .340 for that four-year period), it can't explain away Kim's skills. He doesn't strike out much, even by the standards of the league. He draws plenty of walks, even by the standards of the league. He has 135 stolen bases and has been caught just 20 times in the last four seasons. Again, he's still only turning 26, so that speed is unlikely to disappear any time soon.

Early projections have Kim coming over on a three- or four-year deal worth around $30 million, which would be strikingly similar to the pact Ha-Seong Kim signed with the Padres four years ago. At that price, and even at a 20% markup from that price, he'd be a steal. While Hoyer and company would have to sell him on the concept of playing nearly every day in a utility role (not unlike the one his former teammate took on in San Diego) rather than going elsewhere to be a traditional everyday player, it would be a great fit for both sides. Kim probably needs some protection from left-handed pitchers, and the Cubs need better lineup depth, especially against righties.

It looks increasingly unlikely that the Cubs will bring in a player who rivals Seiya Suzuki as the best hitter in their lineup this offseason. If that turns out to be true, they badly need to bolster the batting order from the other end. Their bench and their lesser bats were often insufficient in 2024. Kim would be a salve for that ailment. He's far from the only solution, and in a world in which the team was ready to spend more aggressively, he probably wouldn't be the best one, but in this plane of existence, he might be the right addition.