The Dodgers added to their middle infield with the signing of KBO second Hyeseong Kim to a three-year contract. That fueled speculation about Los Angeles dealing one of their other infielders.
General manager Brandon Gomes downplayed the notion that adding Kim will spur another trade. “I think it’s more that we’re adding a really talented player, and [then we’ll] see where things play out,” Gomes told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). “It’s helpful to have really strong pieces at a lot of different areas. So that’s how we’re viewing it right now.” He added that the team’s “mindset” remains a middle infield pairing of Mookie Betts at shortstop and Gavin Lux at second base.
Before Gomes’ media session, Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic reported that the Dodgers view Kim as a utility player. Los Angeles values defensive flexibility as much as any team. The 25-year-old Kim has primarily been a second baseman but has experience in left field and at both positions on the left side of the infield. L.A. already has Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor as veteran utility options. Tommy Edman can also play either middle infield spot but is expected to be the everyday center fielder between Michael Conforto and Teoscar Hernández. Assuming a four-man bench, Kim and backup catcher Austin Barnes would round out the position player group. That’d push outfielders Andy Pages and James Outman, each of whom has a minor league option left, to Triple-A if everyone’s healthy.
Rojas underwent postseason hernia surgery, but there’s no indication that’ll keep him from participating in Spring Training. Taylor is coming off a .202/.298/.300 showing. The organization clearly places a lot of emphasis on his versatility and clubhouse presence. L.A. designated former top prospect Diego Cartaya for assignment as the corresponding move for Kim. That suggests the Dodgers see a path to carrying all of Kim, Rojas and Taylor on the roster.
There could be an element of gamesmanship to Gomes’ comments. It wouldn’t do the team much good to proclaim they’re trying to deal a middle infielder even if they were. That said, it’s not surprising that the Dodgers don’t feel Lux’s situation changes much after the Kim signing. The latter’s three-year, $12.5MM guarantee is a modest investment that suggests MLB teams generally viewed him as a utility player rather than a regular.
Lux hit .251/.320/.383 with 10 homers while playing slightly below-average defense in more than 1000 innings at second base last year. He had a fantastic second half, hitting .304 with seven homers in 61 games after the All-Star Break. He has been a league average hitter over nearly 1500 MLB plate appearances. Evaluators question how much Kim will bring to the table offensively. It’d be risky for the Dodgers to deal Lux and expect Kim to handle the keystone.
The Dodgers also don’t have glaring weaknesses that they need to address via trade. There’s little reason to deal Lux for prospects. The Dodgers could open the season with a rotation including Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They’re expected to bring Clayton Kershaw back. They might sign Roki Sasaki. Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May are returning from injury. The bullpen is the relative weak point, but Ardaya writes in a separate column at The Athletic that the team prefers to address that through free agency rather than trade.
Hye-Seong Kim adds a lot of value. At that price, great signing no matter how they use him.
Man instead of being an opening day leadoff man he’s going to be a pinch runner/defensive substitution
But I get not wanting to go to a horrible team like Seattle or Anaheim
He’ll have his day in LA. They signed him for 3 years plus a 2 year option.
Definitely an unexpected signing for the Dodgers. Wonder if anyone got this in the contest?!
Arenado just got a step further from being a Dodger.
No one knows how Kim is going adjust to MLB pitching. Keep in mind that this is not the former Padres’ Kim, this is a different Kim with a very similar name. It’s smart of LA to hold onto Lux until they can see if Kim can be a legitimate hitter in this league.
Dorothy
No more than keeping in mind Teoscar Hernandez and Kike Hernandez are not the same player either.
I don’t know man. Great value signing yeah but look at that bench. Not one power threat among them and who is the 4th outfielder? They can’t be serious about using that bench for the season. Who takes over for Conforto when he goes down with a 2 month injury? Any team would be foolish not to sign Kim to that contract but to say “job done” on the position player off-season obviously isn’t true. Someone is getting traded for a 4th OF power threat or to make room for one.
Coffin
Dalton Rushing and Pages are plenty to have as backup outfielders.
Whoa, got my MDR of thats in just one article.
Anyway, as we know, spring training is where a lot of these seeming positional duplications shake out.
Probably means a Kiki signing is out
Sadly yes
Careful. You’re making Alex Cora’s heart go pitter-patter.
Probably a lot cheaper than Kike unfortunately.
In my opinión the Dodgers are waiting Edman in center. Yes his conversión to CF while with the Cards was aroring success, but he is a GG send baseman. And he can play SS as well if not better than Betts. Yes, it is hard to criticize the Dodger brass, but I still guess, I question the decisión.
It doesn’t really matter though because he is the best centerfielder on the Dodgers roster by a LOT which is why he will be the CF.
They should be trading for Luis Robert
Why? Just because half the Dodgers rosters seems to be on the IL the past couple of seasons, doesn’t mean they are an automatic landing spot for every player made of glass. Besides the IL seems to be the only thing Robert can hit these days. I remember when he was an international free agent that big year when several top prospects were available and being very upset with how long he lingured before the Sox signed him. I thought for sure he was going to be expensive and that’s why the Yankees passed on him. When he signed for such a small contract I couldn’t believe he didn’t sign much sooner. Something in his medicals must have turned team’s off of him. I can’t remember what he signed for but it was way under everyone’s predictions. His constant injuries seem to prove those fears correct.
Some great observations here (spudchukar and roob, in particular).
I am perplexed as to why Mookie is plan A at SS.
By his own admission, SS was too much for Mookie last year and I think it contributed to physical and mental fatigue, and quite possibly his injury.
My thinking all winter has been that their real intentions were to put him at 2B after trading Lux; but that hasn’t happened. Unless the Mariners or some other team trade us prospect(s) comparable to what the Cubs sent us for Busch, seems as if Gavin’s our 2B— leaving Mookie and the team vulnerable at SS.
I also thought Andrew was sniffing hard around Robert; but, that hasn’t happened. Robert in CF, Mookie in RF, signing HS Kim to play short and Edman at 2B (Lux included in the trade for Robert and/or a nice prospect package) was my dream outcome.
Keeping fingers crossed on Roki.
His injury happened because of a high and inside fastball that broke his wrist. Completely unrelated.
I’ll respond by first stating you are probably correct. Mookie has never suggested otherwise. I would never expect him to do so.
That said, I would respectfully suggest there is a least some possibility that fatigue played a role in his inability to get away from the pitch. He was hit on Sunday, June 16–a day game after playing the night before in a 7-2 loss to KC. Prior to the HBP (the only time he had been hit all season), he was completing the worst six weeks of his season. In June he was slashing .208/.344/.358 with a .702 OPS. In May, he hit .276/.345/.390 with an OPS of .735. Well below his season average of .289/.372./.491-.863/OPS.
In the weeks/months after the game he acknowledged being tired from the daily pressure of playing the most demanding position on the field and he later openly agreed that the team would be better, when he returned and he would be better in RF.
More importantly, there is clear evidence that the stress of playing SS took a toll on his performance. Seems to me, he and the Dodgers would be better off with him playing a position less demanding than SS.
Also, June 16 was the ONLY time Mookie was hit by a pitch in 2024.
Norcalblue, would Friedman send Lux and De Paula for Robert and a low A lottery ticket? The White Sox could probably flip Lux before spring training to a team like the Angels, and the Dodgers can move Betts back to 2B.
I think it’s very unlikely that AF would include DePaula in a trade. Josue is probably untouchable. Robert has some serious baggage and is coming off a very unproductive season. Great upside, without question; but I don’t think 2 years of Robert is going to bring any team’s top prospect. Lux and a good prospect(s), yes.
Lux is probably untouchable until it’s seen if he can replicate his second half.
That’s fair but I think it will then have to be a 3-way trade. I don’t think that Chris Getz wants anybody arb-eligible. He’d rather take a couple of more prospects from a team like the Angels or Mariners than take Lux.
That’s a reasonable conclusion DTS. I like Lux a lot and have been rooting for him. If he’s can sustain and build upon those 8 weeks from last July-August, Dodgers have an all star 2B!
You make an interesting point BrickHouse. Friedman loves to cook up three way deals and the two of them have already done one. I think a deal with Seattle makes sense. Arte dislikes Andrew though, so the Angels will be a bigger challenge.
Cut Taylor he’s cooked, keep Pages up all year
Note, when the Dodgers needed a roster spot, Taylor was not the one who got the bus ticket.
This is crazy. Baseball is broken.
Get over yourself dude it’s literally just over 4 million per year. That’s chump change for literally any organization. The coping over the Dodgers is embarrassing and that’s coming from a Brewers fan (aka a team that spends nothing)
Exactly. As a White Sox fan, I’m just hoping we don’t have 4 or 5 seasons of 100+ losses in a row. So, you fans of other teams, keep that in perspective.
I’m not sure what number rebuild we’re on right now over the past dozen years. Talk about pathetic ownership.
And here comes rickoppelt with the
first” baseball is broken” whine. That will take care of any logical discussion.
It always makes me wonder how teams will react after winning a championship. Does the money stream make you more or less inclined to spend. I do wonder at what point it becomes diminishing returns for the Dodgers.
I think you’re on the right track. Not saying that this is the only consideration, but all of a sudden there’s a market the size of South Korea to get further interested in the Dodgers, their players, and purchasing their products.
Right. I was in South Korea in late 2006. I saw tons of people in San Diego Padres hats as that was the most recent team of Chan Ho Park.
Agreed. Look at their sales of Ohtani merchandise in Japan after he signed. They signed HSK not just to help on the baseball side, but also on the business side as they have now tapped into the South Korean market as well.
And yes, I realize that they have had Chan-Ho Park and Hee-Seop Choi play for them years ago.
Oops, forgot about Ryu.
Posturing
Now just words until it’s not. I cannot see them wanting to put the wear and tear of SS on Betts for the entire season.
All signs point to Gavin being something of a Lux-ury after this latest move.
The Dodgers just seem to be looking for a Lux exit plan.
Maybe part of an Arenado trade? Muncy slides to 2B. Kim is utility. Improves offense and defense even with Arenado declining
This is what I am hoping for.
Dodgers are not trading for Arenado.
No but it would be cool.
That team is very well rounded and deep.
That’s one way to put it haha
Betts will be back in RF by the end of May.
It is not exactly the “D-Lux” package, after all.
It’s all good. If every other team can sign multiple all stars to deals that defer absurdly high amounts of money into the future; they’ll all have this glut of options and riches.
They can but they choose not to.
Here we go with the can but they dint bs. Yes they absolutely can but your telling me a player would choose the rockies, rays, pirates, brewers, white Sox, A’s over the dodgers if they had to have defferams in their contracts? I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again if I’m going to a team that isn’t as deep and talented as the dodgers then I want no defferals, no trade clauses, etc. If my contract can’t be like that then of course I’m going to the dodgers. So don’t be so disingenuous about it the dodgers can do way more than other teams can!
They ALL CAN. They just don’t have to because there are a bunch of whiners all around making excuses for billionaires to cry poor.
If this is true what does that say about Seattle? He would’ve been a starter there. For Kim and Santana both to reject their offers for less playing time for the former and less money the latter, it goes to show just how bad Seattle looks to free agent hitters.
It may have something to do with how much more marketable you are as a Dodger, especially in Asia. The Yankees used to be the most marketable. I think the Dodgers have passed them.
Dylan and Moore and Roger Bliss will be at second base and JP Crawford will be at shortstop. What the Mariners really need is a third baseman.
And 1B unless they plan on running Locklear and/or Raley out there.
No other team has a chance, especially when they get Roki. So happy baseball has bent over backwards for LA
Why? The Dodgers have one of the smaller international bonus pools. I get the “Dodgers get everyone” narrative, but still. Most teams can outbid the Dodgers for Sasaki.
The pool money is irrelevant. to Sasaki Or haven’t you been paying attention to the 10 million words written on the subject?
He said he doesn’t care about the market size of teams, I know. I was thinking more like how big each team is in terms of payroll overall, not just what they can offer. I’m sure he’ll still take whatever the best offer is. Either way, I don’t think the Dodgers are the best fit. His agent made a pretty big point about how the Japan media treated him, and the Dodgers get more Japan media coverage than any team in MLB.
Nobody knows what is relevant to Sasaki, not even his agent. This was among the 10 million words.
OMG cooper! Give it a rest. Any team could have picked up Kim. Any team can get Roki. You know it and so do we all.
what color is your tin foil hat?
@Sal: Best guess is that it’s silver w/lots of little points on top.
As good a guess as any Jeff.
I’ve been out since the news broke so I’ll just comment here, that other post is bananas, 500 comments? My god.
Anyhoo, it’s not really a needed move, but the money is util money so is it really a big deal or a broken system? Nah. LAD has a lot of cache right now, so even at this relatively low amount it probably was attractive to Kim.
Now if other teams offered more that’d be really telling of LAD’s allure.
They can probably deal Taylor or Rojas though for RP and keep Pages on the roster, whom they really should. Kid showed a bit last season.
Are we allowed to do that, or is that unfair?
We should ask the other 29 and their fan bases for permission, don’t want to get them in a temper tantrum.
The Dodfers should pick up Kevin Newman to play short and flip Mookie Betts to third and Gavin Lux to second. That would be a pretty impregnable defence: Betts/Newman/Lux aka BeNeLux. A veritable Maginot Line.
Hey, it failed miserably once, but who’s to say it’ll happen again. (Not that a lot of thought didn’t go into this.)
So long as Max Kepler or Domingo German aren’t at the dish
Do Dodgers have one week to get at least int. signing bonus? or draft pick for Diego?
Great question! Maybe this is part of their plan to maximize int’l bonus pool $$: trade Cartaya for the maximum 60%.
You can’t trade for 2025 international pool money until Jan 15. So no they can’t get any for Cartaya.
Pages is too dynamic of a player to be toiling in Oklahoma. He needs to regularly be in the Dodgers lineup. Hopefully he doesn’t become a Konerko or Alvarez trade story.
Or hopefully he does become a Konerko story wink wink nudge nudge
You’re dreaming Dumpster. The nightmare days of Lasorda and Ned Colletti impersonating front office decision-makers and trading the likes of Pedro, Konerko and Santana are over—thankfully.
As noted in the article, the incumbent Dodgers bench is Barnes, Taylor, Rojas, and Pages. All RH so I get why a LH bat would be helpful. But I would think they could find a better one than this. In Friedman We Trust but it’s hard to see how this guy is worth blocking Pages and loding Cartaya.
I believe the answer might be found in Kim having won the KBO version of the Gold Glove several times and being good on the base paths. It also might have something to do with Lux having terrible splits against LHP.
It does matter who’s out there, after all month or so they’ll pull someone out of nowhere on a stupid deal
Wouldn’t the defense be better if you moved Betts to CF and Edman to SS?
Tiger-Dodgers-Cards trade
Dodgers get 3B Arenado
Tigers get OF Andy Pages and C Hunter Feduccia
Cards get a gaggle of players from the Tigers… Lange, McKinstry, Mize, Manning…? (Tigers get Matz if Cards want to dump salary?)
The Dodgers take on an underwater contract and give up two controlled players for the privilege? Nice! Friedman would instantly be committed to the goofy ward if he got involved with a deal like this.
Most ridiculous trade offer I’ve seen. Are the Dodgers some kind of charity organization giving away talent to acquire a washed up player in steep decline with a bad contract?
The Arenado to LA ship sailed years ago. Ain’t happening now.
we’ll just buy guys, thanks. why trade when u print money
No they’re not… Gomes Interview after the Teo Press Conference…
Brandon Gomes YouTube Vid abt the 5:10 Mark:
“We’re perfectly fine with that, knowing that there are other pieces in play that are really strong……” In the context of the conversation, I think he accidentally let the cat out of the bag. He’s not as Rico Suave as Andrew Friedman is yet….
Gavin Lux has never won a gold glove at second base and probably won’t for the next few years, if ever.. why would you NOT have this guy start at second base? I don’t know, compare their stats..
Good. The “trade Lux” crowd has been too loud ever since signing Kim. Lux’s capabilities are at least known. Who knows how good or bad Kim might be.