Kim Hye-sung, who knocked on the MLB for posting 'It's too ambiguous to be ambiguous', why he didn't get attention at the winter meeting

Dec 13, 2024

Kim Hye-sung knocked on MLB door through posting. However, the atmosphere at the beginning of the market is cold. Sports Chosun DB

'The advantages are ambiguous, and the disadvantages are clear.'

Will Kim Hye-sung (25) be able to achieve his dream of becoming a major leaguer. The mood at the beginning of the post is not very good. Major League clubs were less interested than expected. The winter meeting, which was the first stage to show interest in Kim Hye-sung, can be evaluated as a failure.

Kim Hye-sung applied for posting on the 5th. This was a paving the way for the MLB Winter Meeting to be held in Dallas, Texas from the 9th to the 12th local time. The winter meeting, in which the heads and coaches of 30 Major League teams, club officials, agents, and reporters are gathered, is like a large sales market. Contracts between FA and posting players are actively made.

Kium Heroes era shortstop Kim Ha-sung and second baseman Kim Hye-sung. Sports Chosun DB

In fact, Juan Soto signed a 15-year-$765 million contract with the New York Mets during the winter meeting, and Willy Adames, the biggest FA shortstop, signed a 7-year, $182 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. In short, 'like players' are often contracted through winter meetings. Of course, there are cases where even a big FA cannot sign a contract.

The problem is that there is a rough outline for players who can sign a contract. However, the situation was different about Kim. No team has appeared that shows particular interest, and local media rarely mention Kim Hye-sung.

Initially, the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels were mentioned as Kim Hye-sung's likely destinations. In addition, the Toronto Blue Jays are also interested in Kim Hye-sung. However, these clubs did not offer specific conditions to Kim Hye-sung at the winter meeting. There have been several meetings, but it does not seem to have developed into full-fledged negotiations for joining.

Analysts say that the reason why Kim Hye-sung is not receiving so much attention is because of his ambiguous position to recruit. Kim Hye-sung appeals to 'main power and defense' as strengths, but from a major league point of view, this is not such an attractive indicator.

Kiwoom Kim Hye-sung, the second baseman's defense award, is speaking at the 2024 KBO Awards held at Lotte Hotel World on the 26th. Jamsil = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2024.11.26/

In particular, in terms of defense, it is difficult to erase the image of 'second baseman limited'. Kim Hye-sung is a second baseman who represents the KBO League. In 2021, he won his first career Golden Glove as a shortstop, but later changed his position to second base and won the Golden Glove in the second base category for the second consecutive year in 2022 and 2023. He is likely to win the Golden Glove in the second base category for the third consecutive year until this year. When it comes to second base, it can also be competitive in the Major League.

However, records are somewhat lower in the shortstop and third baseman categories. He played 1924 innings in 284 games as a shortstop, but his defense rate was only 95.4%. Above all, his weak throwing ability was pointed out as a weakness, so he was almost fixed as a second baseman from 2022.

As a third baseman, his capabilities are very poor. He played only 19 games and 95 innings. It can be said that he stepped up only briefly if he had no choice due to the team's circumstances. To put it simply, for Kim Hye-sung, the third baseman deserves to be 'undeveloped area'.

The 2024 KBO Awards held at Lotte Hotel World on the 26th, Kiwoom Kim Hye-sung, the second baseman's defense award, is congratulated by general manager Ko Hyung-wook. Jamsil = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2024.11.26/

As a result, it is ambiguous to be considered a utility player in defense. This, combined with the lack of hitting ability, is becoming a factor that further undermines Kim Hye-sung's value.

CBS Sports in the U.S. pointed out important weaknesses after Kim Hye-sung applied for posting on the 5th, delivering various histories, scouting reports, and posting prospects. It is relatively meager power. The media reported that the power index of Kim Hye-sung is not attractive compared to past teammates (Kim Ha-sung, Lee Jung-hoo). Kim Hye-sung's career ISO (net hit rate) is 0.099, which is significantly lower than Lee Jung-hoo (0.151) and Kim Ha-sung (0.199).

In the Major League, it is difficult to win the main position if only one part is outstanding. Only when the defense, main focus, and batting ability are maintained at a certain level or higher can he be the main player or backup.

However, Kim Hye-sung is too poor in terms of hitting, especially long-shot power. In order to cover this, it must show a remarkable advantage in terms of defense, which is also less utilized because it is limited to the second baseman. Although it has the advantage of being cheap, it is hard to say that this is an advantage that will appeal to major league clubs.

In the end, if no club wants a clear defensive player in the second baseman field, Kim Hye-sung's posting is likely to fail. It's because it's a charmingly wrapped character, but if you look closely, it's a character that's too ambiguous.

Reporter Lee Won-man wman@sportschosun.com

wman@sportschosun.com