In this file photo from June 28, 2024, Kim Hye-seong of the Kiwoom Heroes hits a two-run single against the Kia Tigers during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, about 270 kilometers south of Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean All-Star infielder Kim Hye-seong has been posted for Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs, with teams free to negotiate with him until an early January deadline.
MLB said it notified its 30 clubs of Kim’s availability at noon Eastern Time (ET) Wednesday, or 2 a.m. Korean Standard Time (KST) Thursday. The move came after the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), acting on the request from Kim’s club, Kiwoom Heroes, asked MLB to inform its teams of Kim’s status at noon KST Wednesday.
Per an agreement between the two leagues, all 30 MLB teams can now negotiate a deal with Kim during a 30-day period.
The negotiating window opens at 8 a.m. ET on Thursday, or 10 p.m. KST on Thursday. It will conclude at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 3, or 7 a.m. KST on Jan. 4.
If Kim doesn’t sign a big league deal during this period, he will not be allowed to be posted again until Nov. 1, 2025.
Kim, 25, traveled to Los Angeles last Friday to begin training at a facility prepared by his U.S.-based agency, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and to wait for the posting process to begin. On Nov. 26, after receiving his second straight KBO Fielding Award at second base, Kim had told reporters that he expected to be posted sometime after the U.S. Thanksgiving, and he would soon travel to America after the holiday.
The Seattle Mariners are reportedly interested in Kim’s services, with general manager Justin Hollander having called second base the team’s “priority area” to add talent this winter.
Kim is fresh off a productive 2024 season, in which he established career highs with 11 home runs, 75 RBIs and a .458 slugging percentage. Kim batted .326 for his fourth consecutive .300 season and swiped 30 bags, his seventh consecutive year with at least 20 steals.
Kim, who made his KBO debut in 2017 and became a regular the following year, has a career batting line of .306/.364/.403 with 211 steals — the most in the KBO since 2018.
Though he has been making annual progress at the plate, Kim’s calling card has always been his defense. He won the inaugural KBO Fielding Award at second base last year and repeated as the winner this year.
He can also handle shortstop and third base. In 2021, he was the Heroes’ primary shortstop, after their former shortstop, Kim Ha-seong, had signed with the San Diego Padres. Kim Hye-seong also logged time in the outfield earlier in his career.
Other than Kim Ha-seong, the Heroes have previously sent three other players to MLB via posting: former shortstop Kang Jung-ho, who signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in January 2015; ex-first baseman Park Byung-ho, who landed with the Minnesota Twins in December 2015; and former outfielder Lee Jung-hoo, who found his new home with the San Francisco Giants in December 2023.
KBO teams receive a “release fee” for losing a player to MLB through posting, and the amount will depend on the guaranteed portion of the player’s contract.
According to the KBO, the fee is 20 percent of the first US$25 million and 17.5 percent of the amount exceeding the next $25 million. If a player signs for over $50 million, then his former KBO team will receive 20 percent of the first $25 million ($5 million) and 17.5 percent of the next $25 million ($4,375,000), plus 15 percent of the amount exceeding $50 million.
(Yonhap)
