Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Hyeseong Kim, who started the year in Triple-A, sent a message to the fans about his goals for 2026.
Kim just missed out on the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster, as LA selected Alex Freeland for the final spot out of spring training. The utility man is familiar with starting the season in Triple-A—having done the same in 2025—and is targeting a return soon.
“Hello, fans,” Kim began. “I mentioned that my biggest goal for this season was to make the opening roster and show my face in the major leagues throughout the year, but I feel so sorry for not being able to keep that promise right from the start. Still, since the season is long, I’ll work hard to perform well, get called up quickly, and show you all my active presence in the major leagues. Thank you.”
Kim is off to a great start with the Comets, as he’s batting .500 through three games and has a 1.071 OPS. He had a 5-for-5 night for Oklahoma City on Saturday, driving in two runs and scoring four times.
Why is Hyeseong Kim in Triple-A?
KIm had a great spring training, but the Dodgers still want to see more from him in his second year.
“The main reason why Hyeseong Kim didn’t make the team was he’s still implementing second-year swing changes, and they want to get him consistent at-bats and see him have consistent success with those swing changes,” said Dodgers Nation reporter Doug McKain.
“When he came up last year in that first month, he hit over .400. Then after that first month, he hit under .200 and really struggled. The biggest thing that stood out was that he had a strikeout rate above 30%. Their big fear is that they don’t want to have a batter at the bottom of the lineup that can’t get on base.”
Freeland, on the other hand, has shown he has the ability to get on base. He managed eight walks during spring training, and has already put together some great results in the Dodgers’ first three games. Manager Dave Roberts also commented on the decision following Kim’s assignment to Triple-A, but called it the hardest decision he had to make during the preseason.
“It was probably the toughest decision of the spring,” Roberts said. “There’s no doubt that Hyeseong at some point is going to come help us out.
“I think the driver as far as the outset, is giving Hyeseong the opportunity to play every day, play all over the diamond; he’s going to play some short, some center, some second base there. Whereas here, he wouldn’t have the runway to play more frequently.
“I think with Alex, what he’s done in Triple-A already, he’s played well there and there’s really nothing left for him to prove there. So I think for us to give him a little bit of runway to see what we have in him, give him an opportunity to play here for us against right-handed pitching and just kind of see where it goes.
“But again, it’s really not an indictment on Hyeseong at all. Like I said, we think the world of him as a player, as a teammate, and expect him to help us at some point.”
When do you think Kim will make his season debut this year?
