San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee and Los Angeles Dodgers infielder/outfielder Hyeseong Kim participated in the same major league game for the first time on Saturday night, June 14.
Both played together on the South Korean national baseball team and were teammates on the Kiwoom Heroes (previously the Nexen Heroes) in the KBO from 2017 to 2023.
However, fans have been speculating whether or not Kim will get more action on the field.
Will the Rising Dodgers Star Hyeseong Kim Get More Playing Time?
According to Dodgersnation.com, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts assured fans that the player is on the right track. “He’s doing everything he needs to do,” Roberts said.
Since being recalled on May 3, Hyeseong Kim has been a thrilling spark plug for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he hasn’t seen much action.
Kim was initially intended to experience the Major League Baseball level for a brief period. Still, he pushed his way into a permanent position on the team, which resulted in the decision to let Chris Taylor go.
Kim, who primarily fills in at second base and center field, is now starting in about three to four games every week.
Kim was posted by his team, the Kiwoom Heroes, in early December. He was one of the KBO’s top hitters. That was the start of the 25-year-old second baseman’s 30-day window to sign with an MLB team. He has until Friday at 5 p.m. ET to do so.
During his eight seasons with the Heroes, Kim batted .304 and recorded a .364 on-base percentage. In the last seven seasons, Kim has also stolen at least 20 bases, with a high of 46 in 2021. In ’24, Kim, a left-handed hitter, had 30 steals and 11 home runs for Kiwoom.
When the Dodgers played Team Korea in an exhibition game in Seoul, South Korea, in March of last year, before facing the Padres to start the season, they had a close-up look at Kim. That day, Kim destroyed L.A. righty Bobby Miller with a double off the wall.
The 26-year-old has won the KBO Golden Glove Award four times, which recognizes the top player overall at each position in the KBO. After winning the award as shortstop in 2021, he went on to win it at second base in each of the last three seasons.
In his debut Korean matchup, Kim of the Dodgers defeated Lee of the San Francisco Giants. At Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday, the Dodgers beat the Giants 11-5, and Kim went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Lee went 0-for-4 with a walk in the loss.
Former KBO teammates Jung Hoo Lee and Hyeseong Kim face off against each other for the first time in their MLB careers! 🫰
화이팅! pic.twitter.com/24ijYsA4RN
— MLB (@MLB) June 15, 2025
Kim started at second base and batted ninth in Saturday’s game, while Lee started in center field and hit leadoff. In the bottom third, Kim, who had lined out in his initial at-bat in the bottom second, extended the Dodgers’ advantage to 7-0 with a two-out RBI single in front of Lee.
After lining out in the same direction in the bottom seventh, Kim flew out to left field in the bottom fifth.
Lee sailed out to right field in the top third of the first after drawing a walk against Clayton Kershaw, the game’s starter.
In the top sixth, Lee struck out swinging on Kershaw’s patented 12-6 curveball. Lee lined out to new second baseman Tommy Edman in the top of the ninth, moments after Edman took over from Kim and Kim moved to center field.