Dodgers' unpopular roster decision has fans wondering what's next for Hyeseong Kim

The roster battle to determine the Los Angeles Dodgers' final infield spots has come to an end, with Hyeseong Kim surprisingly emerging as the loser. Kim, who never quite got into a rhythm last season, will now be starting the season in Oklahoma City.

The move comes as something of a shock. The 27-year-old slashed .407/.448/.519 this spring, which on the surface was impressive. It wasn't enough to get him over the hump against his main challengers, top prospect Alex Freeland and non-roster invitee Santiago Espinal.

Espinal making the club was no surprise. His scorching spring won Dave Roberts and the rest of the organization over, and he was added to the 40-man roster on March 18, all but ensuring he'd be with the team for Opening Day

Freeland making the roster over Kim was the bigger surprise. The Dodgers' No. 8 prospect hit just .116/.286/.233 in 18 spring games. His inclusion might tell us more about what Los Angeles thinks about Kim rather than serve as an endorsement for Freeland.

Hyeseong Kim's demotion doesn't bode well for his future with the Dodgers

While Kim's spring stat line looked impressive, it was a bit misleading. His sample size was smaller than the others thanks to his time away competing with Team Korea in the World Baseball Classic. He did not hit well during the tournament as he posted a .083/.214/.333 line (though he did hit a big home run against Japan during pool play).

The Dodgers definitely took note, and when Kim returned, he took too long to snap out of his funk. More important than the overall stat line is how he looked at the plate.

Coming over from the KBO, Kim was supposed to be a contact over power guy with a knack for putting the ball in play and getting on base. However, while he didn't show much in the power department in 2025, he did show swing-and-miss tendencies the Dodgers weren't expecting.

Kim struck out at a 30.6% clip while walking just 4.1% of the time, making it hard for him to produce offensive value without some big-time pop. This spring, it was more of the same with him running a 26.7% K-rate and a 3.3% walk rate.

This doesn't seem to be a chance for a quick reset, either. The depth chart will only get more crowded once Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández return from the IL. Edman could be back as soon as the end of April, while Hernández's targeted return date is coming about a month after that. Once the veterans are back, Freeland could feel the squeeze as well.

Kim is in the second year of the three-year, $12.5 million contract he signed ahead of last season. It's now almost a guarantee that the Dodgers will not be picking up his club option for 2028 when the time comes. The most likely scenario now is that they look for him to rake in Triple-A and then flip him in a trade as soon as he shows enough value to generate a worthwhile return.

It feels weird to say that after such a short period of time, they might already be willing to move on, but with so much depth in the infield and this demotion being the opposite of a vote of confidence, it certainly feels like his time in LA is limited.