"There's a good chance you'll go back to the minor leagues"

The Athletic reported Kim Hye-sung's call-up at 1 a.m. on the 4th (Korea time). Due to Tommy Edman's ankle inflammation, Kim Hye-sung was called by the big league and was on his way to Atlanta, where the away series is underway.

Kim failed to take the batter's box, but played as a second baseman in an away match against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, in the bottom of the ninth inning for the first time. Not a single hit was directed towards Kim, but as it was her Major League debut, she was full of smiles. It was the moment when the 28th Korean Big Leaguer was born.
However, this is the beginning. Kim does not have much time. Prior to this season, Kim joined the Dodgers through a three-plus-two-year, 22 million-dollar contract. The deal allows the Dodgers to receive 12.5 million dollars for three years, and an additional 9.5 million dollars for two years through an option if they wish to accompany the Dodgers.

The Dodgers were at the top of the World Series last year, and questions followed until Kim Hye-sung was recruited. Despite having strong capability to climb to the highest level, the Dodgers embraced Kim. However, the Dodgers had its own idea. Immediately after recruiting Kim, it used Gavin Lux, who was its main second baseman, as its trade card.

Lux was a promising player who was chosen by the Dodgers in the first round. He has been showing full potential since he changed his uniform this year, but he did not grow as expected before. As a result, the Dodgers said goodbye to Lux, creating a structure in which Kim Hye-sung can compete with Tommy Edman, Kike Hernandez, and Miguel Rojas for the starting position.

However, Kim's performance at the exhibition game was definitely disappointing. After joining the Dodgers, he decided to change his batting form to reduce leg kicks and produce more long balls, and at a time when he failed to adjust to the new batting form as well as the level of the Major League, he ended up with six hits, one homer, three RBIs and a batting average of 0.207 OPS of 0.613 in 15 games.

As a result, Kim will move to Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets ahead of the opening game of the Tokyo Series. However, time has passed and Kim has adapted to her new batting form to some extent. And based on this, he left a batting average of 0.252 OPS of 0.798 with 29 hits, 5 home runs, 19 RBIs, 22 runs, and 13 steals in 28 Triple-A games, and Edman's injury finally allowed him to be called to the big leagues.

According to multiple U.S. media outlets, manager Dave Roberts expressed expectations before the game on Wednesday, saying, "Kim Hye-sung is constantly improving. This opportunity will be a good opportunity to deal with Major League pitchers and adjust to the U.S. stage." 메이저놀이터

Kim Hye-sung also said, "I was very surprised," and said, "There were no complaints. There were many things I had to fix. When it comes to swing, everything has changed. There are still a lot of things to improve, but it's definitely better than when I first came to the United States."

However, Kim does not have much time left. As Edman's injury is not serious and the date of his registration on the disabled list is applied retroactively, he can return to the big league on May 10 at the earliest. The U.S. Dodger Blue said that Kim has a chance to prove his value in the Major League, but unless there are additional injuries, chances are high that he will return to the Minor League once Edman returns.

In the match on the 4th, Kim was not listed in the starting lineup due to the problem of Lee Dong and did not enter the batter's box, but chances are high that Kim Hye-sung will be given a chance. Kim Hye-sung must prove her value through this. It is a short period, but Kim Hye-sung's position can change depending on what kind of performance she performs.

Will Kim be able to change her future over the course of about a week? What is clear is that through this call-up, Kim is the 0th player to join the Major League if there is a gap in the infield.