*This content was translated by AI.
Tommy Hyun-soo Edman (31, LA Dodgers), a "Korean-class infielder," seems to be difficult to play in the opening game. At this rate, Kim Hye-sung is likely to play as the starting second baseman for the opening game.
Dodgers Nation, a U.S. media outlet that mainly deals with Dodgers news, reported on the 24th (Korea time) that "It may not be easy for Edman to start the 2026 season."
The media said, "Edman, who underwent ankle surgery early in the offseason, and is currently recovering, could miss the early 2026 season. It was initially expected to return at the beginning of the season, but it does not seem easy. "Even if you look at the recruitment of Andy Ibanez, another infielder, it tells you another current situation for the Dodgers," he explained.
He then asked, "Which position will Edman play in the 2026 season?" and added, "After suffering an ankle injury in 2025, the Dodgers excluded him from the center field position. Therefore, it is highly likely that he will play second base in the 2026 season. With Ibanez's recruitment, the Dodgers have four second baseman candidates. The four people mentioned here are Edman, Kim Hye-sung, Ibanez, and Miguel Rojas.
Ibanez failed to renew his contract with the Detroit Tigers in November last year, becoming free. And as he is called by the Dodgers this time, he is aiming for a new leap forward this season. Ibanez played primarily as a third baseman in the 2025 season. He is a utility player who has played all infield positions evenly for five big league seasons. I even played as an outfielder. Last season, he played in 91 games and posted a batting average of 0.239 and an OPS of 0.653.
The media said, "Kim Hye-sung is sure to compete for the main position in the Dodgers. Ibanez will have some time to watch. Rojas can play other positions in the infield due to his versatile skills. The Dodgers are more willing to use Edman as second baseman than Ibanez and Rojas. Since there are many other options in the outfield, there is a high possibility that he will continue to use it as an infielder in the future," he said.
Meanwhile, Edman played in 97 games in the 2025 season with a batting average of 0.225 (78 hits in 346) with 13 homers, 13 doubles, one triple, 49 RBIs and 49 runs, three steals (one failure), 61 strikeouts on 19 walks, a on-base percentage of 0.274, a slugging percentage of 0.382 and an on-base percentage of 0.655. Although he did not show destructive performance in attack, he gained the trust of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts by showing a leaky performance on the defense side. Edman has already agreed to a five-year, $74 million extension contract until 2029.
However, there were many times when he suffered unexpected injuries during the season. In May, he was diagnosed with right ankle inflammation and was listed as injured. Then in August, he felt pain in the same area, and eventually fell out of the battle line. In particular, the August injury led to a long-term injury of about a month. Due to the bad ankle, he was unable to make use of his strength, the main force. He made 30 stolen bases in the 2021 season, 32 in the 2022 season, and 27 in the 2023 season, respectively, but there was no way to deal with the pain.
Edman played as a member of the Korean national team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament and received a lot of applause. However, with Korea's shock elimination at the time, some fans visited his social network service (SNS) channel and criticized him.
Coach Ryu Ji-hyun, the head coach of the national team, said earlier in the first camp in Saipan, "In fact, we also paid attention to that part. I was sorry. "I should have taken care of it a little more, but I couldn't do it," he said, adding, "When I went to the Dodgers campground in March last year, I started talking about that with Kim Hye-sung," and added, "If Edman didn't have a problem with his body, I really wanted to go and do well, but I have a surgery plan, so it will be difficult to play in the WBC this time." Instead, he said he would like to tell his Korean fans that if he gets a chance four years later, he will really play then. So I said okay. Tell me that, the tournament was not possible to do it together, but it ended very nicely," he said.
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*This content was translated by AI.
