Why Morosi calls KBO’s Hye-seong Kim a ‘fantastic’ target for Mariners

On Tuesday, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported that the Seattle Mariners are one of the teams who have closely evaluated Korean infielder Hye-seong Kim, a player who is expected to be posted by the Korean Baseball Organization this offseason as available to MLB teams in free agency.

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What we didn’t learn on Tuesday, however, was Morosi’s insight on how much Kim would fit the Mariners as a target. Luckily Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob got that Wednesday during the show’s weekly conversation with the baseball insider, and Morosi’s take on Kim possibly landing with Mariners is good news for M’s fans.

“How do you think he would fit in with this team, and I guess more importantly with this ballpark?” guest host Mike Lefko asked.

Responded Morosi: “I think he’d be fantastic.”

There are a few reasons for that. First?

“He is very much a contact-oriented player,” Morosi said of the 5-foot-10, 176-pound Kim. “We heard the Mariners talk a lot about that a year ago, didn’t quite work out in terms of actually reducing the swing and miss.”

The Mariners made a concerted effort last offseason to cut down on strikeouts at the plate after finishing 2023 with more than all but one other team in the big leagues. The result wasn’t what Seattle was looking for, however, as they actually struck out 22 more times in 2024 for the highest number in MLB.

In eight seasons with the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes, Kim has slashed .304/.364/.403 for a career .766 OPS. He had a strong 2024 season as the Heroes’ second baseman, slashing .326/.383/.458 for an .841 OPS with 11 home runs, 26 doubles, four triples, 90 runs scored, 75 RBIs, and 30 steals on 36 attempts. And he struck out just 62 times while drawing 47 walks.

“He’s someone that has occasional power, he can handle velocity and would play a very solid second base. And we know what a difficult position that’s been for the Mariners to have some stability,” Morosi said.

Another positive: Morosi mentioned that Kim, who swings left-handed and will be 26 next season, would be a nice fit for the Mariners when it comes to their budget.

“He’s not going to be, I don’t think, a very expensive player. … I think a two-year contract in the range of maybe $6-8 million a year would be doable for him, and I think that he would do well with that type of contract with the Mariners.”

Hear the full Wyman and Bob conversation with MLB Network insider Jon Morosi in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Morosi is a weekly guest on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, which airs from 2-7 p.m. weekdays.

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