Hyeseong Kim Called Up as Dodgers Lose Mookie Betts to Back Injury

Hyeseong Kim, 27, hit .364 across five games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, and on Saturday night, Mookie Betts gave him the opening he needed.

Betts exited the Dodgers' 10-5 win over the Washington Nationals in the first inning with right lower back pain. He had drawn a walk in his only plate appearance, then scored when Freddie Freeman hit a two-run double. His back tightened while rounding the bases and he never returned. Manager Dave Roberts described the injury as "moderate" rather than serious, though Betts was scheduled for an MRI Saturday night to determine the full extent. Roberts indicated Betts is expected to miss at least a few games, with an IL stint possible pending results.

Kim, nicknamed "The Comet," is now traveling to Washington D.C. to rejoin the club, with an official call-up imminent. The OKC Triple-A broadcast confirmed the move following Betts' exit. It is a rapid reversal for a player the Dodgers optioned on March 22, three days before Opening Day, despite a spring training line of .407/.448/.519 with five stolen bases across nine Cactus League games at Camelback Ranch. Alex Freeland, the team's No. 4 prospect, had edged him out for the final bench spot.

The call-up requires little deliberation. Tommy Edman, the club's primary second baseman, is out until at least late May recovering from November 2025 ankle surgery. Kim plays second base, shortstop, and center field, and his versatility is precisely what a Betts absence demands. With Miguel Rojas and Freeland already on the active roster, Kim is the clearest next man up from Oklahoma City.

His early numbers in Triple-A made the decision easy. On March 29, Kim went 5-for-5 for the Comets, the best single game of his U.S. career. Dodgers analyst and former MLB shortstop Nomar Garciaparra had predicted the moment, saying Kim "will force the team's hand and earn a call-up to the majors if he keeps producing at such a high level." Broadcaster John Hartung was equally confident: "He's making a case to be back here in the big league roster, maybe sooner than later."

The case predates this season. Kim signed a three-year, $12.5 million guaranteed contract with the Dodgers on January 3, 2025, after the club paid a $2.5 million posting fee to his KBO club, the Kiwoom Heroes, where he hit .304/.364/.403 across eight seasons while averaging roughly 30 stolen bases per full year. His debut MLB season was limited to a bench role, but his moments in the 2025 postseason carried outsize weight: he entered Game 4 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies as a pinch runner and scored the series-winning run in the 11th inning after reliever Orion Kerkering committed a throwing error. In World Series Game 7, Kim entered as a defensive replacement at second base and recorded the first putout of the final inning as the Dodgers secured the championship.

That postseason credibility now pairs with a .364 Triple-A start and a veteran's back injury that just cleared the path back to the roster. The Betts MRI will set the formal timeline; Kim's bat already made the decision.