Hyeseong Kim didn’t hold back. The South Korean infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers came out and said what the numbers already showed: 2026 was the most disappointing season of his baseball career. He spent roughly one month in the majors during the regular season, more than four months in Triple-A Oklahoma City, and finished with a .651 OPS in just 43 games — the lowest on the team among players with at least 100 at-bats.
What Kim Said — and Why It Matters
The admission came on October 17, 2026, as the postseason wrapped up. Kim spoke candidly about a season that started with real promise and ended with him watching the playoffs from the stands.
«The fact that I was only in the Major Leagues for about a month — that’s what hurts the most. I want to play in the Major Leagues for a long time, but I wasn’t able to make that happen,» Kim said, as quoted by @DodgersNation.
That’s more than seasonal frustration. Kim arrived in Los Angeles in January 2025 on a three-year, $12.5 million guaranteed contract after eight seasons in the KBO with the Kiwoom Heroes — where he hit .304, stole 211 bases, and won four consecutive Golden Gloves from 2021 through 2024. He capped his first MLB season by winning the World Series. 2026 was supposed to be his breakout confirmation. Instead, it became his lowest point.
How the Season Fell Apart
Kim lost the spring training competition for the second base job and opened the year in Triple-A. When Mookie Betts got hurt, the Dodgers called him up in April, and the start was encouraging: an OPS of .760 with an average close to .300 in the early weeks.
Then May hit hard. Over his final eight games of the month, Kim racked up 18 strikeouts against just 5 walks, and his production collapsed. He was optioned back to Oklahoma City on May 29 and never returned to the MLB roster during the regular season. The Dodgers filled the spot with Santiago Espinal and Alex Freeland.
His postseason return came out of nowhere: the Dodgers added him to the NLDS roster against the Atlanta Braves, leaning on his speed — the fastest on the team and in the 86th percentile for sprint speed across all of MLB. He made one appearance: a defensive replacement in the ninth inning of Game 4. He was off the roster entirely for the NLCS.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman acknowledged Kim has a future with the club but was direct about the issue. Per Sports Illustrated, Friedman said «the swing got a little out of whack this year» and that the organization still believes in Kim heading into 2027. He has $3.75 million guaranteed for next season.
The Numbers Tell the Real Story
Statcast fills in what traditional stats leave out. Kim averaged an exit velocity of 85.8 mph — below MLB standards — with a barrel rate of just 3.4% and a hard-hit rate of 25.3%. His xwOBA of .304 suggests his actual production was only slightly below what his contact quality would predict — but that contact quality was already insufficient for an offensive contributor on a 100-win team.
The number that stands out most: a 24.4% strikeout rate in MLB and 24.9% in Triple-A. The problem didn’t get worse in the majors — it traveled with him. Legs alone won’t keep him on a 26-man roster that gets fought over every single day of spring training.
Hyeseong Kim’s 2026 Statcast Numbers
- Plate appearances: 131
- Home runs: 1 | RBI: 11
- AVG: .259 | OPS: .651
- xwOBA: .304
- Exit velocity (avg): 85.8 mph
- Barrel rate: 3.4%
- Hard-hit rate: 25.3%
- Sprint speed: 86th percentile in MLB
The Dodgers won 100 games in 2026 and remain one of the deepest rosters in baseball. Kim has a contract and the wheels to change a game without needing to mash. But on a team where every roster spot is earned from scratch each spring, another season like this one won’t be enough.
