"Kim Hye-sung will play more as a center fielder this year." After 107 billion Korean stars were injured... Roberts drew a big picture of "Rather."

*This content was translated by AI.

This year, Kim Hye-sung (27) is expected to see a little more of the LA Dodgers center fielder.

According to major U.S. media such as Dodgers Nation, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after 2026 LA Dodgers spring camp training in Camelback Ranch, Arizona on the 17th (Korea time), "Kim Hye-sung will compete at second base, but he will take on a little more center field."

Kim Hye-sung signed a three-plus-two-year, maximum 22 million-dollar contract and joined the Dodgers ahead of the 2025 season. He achieved half the success in his first year. He played only two games throughout the postseason, hitting .280 (45 hits in 161 at-bats), three homers, 17 RBIs, 19 runs and 13 steals in 71 regular-season games, and showed poor performance with an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.699.

However, despite not being in the opening entry, it was positive that he finally made his big league debut and even won the World Series. It showed great potential as a backup utility. Last year, Kim Hye-sung played 278 innings in 45 games as a second baseman, 85 ⅓ innings in 17 games as a center fielder, and 46 innings in 11 games as a shortstop.

Even in her not bad debut season, Kim Hye-sung could not be relieved. This is because the Dodgers did not stop reinforcing even after two consecutive World Series losses. This winter alone, they acquired New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz (32) for three years and 69 million dollars (about 99.8 billion won) and Kyle Tucker (29), a 20-homer outfielder, for five consecutive years, for 240 million dollars (about 347.3 billion won) for four years. In addition, utility backup Kiké Hernández (35) also renewed his contract for 4.5 million U.S. dollars (approximately 6.5 billion won) per year.

This is the aftermath of Tommy Edman (31), a Korean major leaguer, having surgery on his right ankle in November last year. Edman, who shows high-quality defense in both the outfield and the infield, signed a five-year, $74 million (about 107.1 billion won) extension with the Dodgers after the end of the 2024 season. Even though he was injured last year, he played 377 at-bats in 97 games, effectively classifying him as a main player.

However, Roberts drew a bigger picture of the main player's injury. It was seen as an opportunity for backup players including Kim Hye-sung to grow. Roberts said, "I want to send Kim Hye-sung to the plate a little more. So he will take the center field. Then I expect to have more opportunities this year," he said.

Even the U.S. local media did not just listen to Roberts' remarks as lip service. U.S. media LA Sports Sports said, "Kim Hye-sung got off to a good start in the early days of his major league debut. Since then, he has struggled with injuries and sluggishness, and by the time of the postseason, his role has been reduced to the level of replacement players. Alex Freeland said, "I got a chance after a series of injuries to the infield and showed improved performance through contact-oriented batting."

At the same time, "Both Kim Hye-sung and Freeland are young and motivated. The Dodgers also seem to have high expectations for them, so the main competition is expected to be very interesting, he said. "Migel Rojas will play an important role in the infield, but the Dodgers will show frequent rest as it is the last season. "We will focus on giving more opportunities to players who will be responsible for the future than Rojas," he said.

Currently, Dodgers backups include Kim Hye-sung, Alex Freeland (25), Miguel Rojas (37), Hernandez, and Santiago Espinal (32). Los Angeles Sports Leports said, "Spinal has been sluggish for two consecutive seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. I will stay in backup resources unless there is an unexpected rebound. Rather, considering the potential of Kim Hye-sung and Freeland, the competition between the two will have a significant impact on the team's future after the 2026 season.

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*This content was translated by AI.