Coming off of back-to-back World Series victories in 2024 and 2025, Dodgers fans had very little to worry about going into 2026. But the Dodgers' recent decision to put infielder Alex Freeland on the Opening Day roster over infielder Hyeseong Kim was met with some discontent.
On Monday, manager Dave Roberts took the time to explain some of the thinking behind the controversial decision.
The main source of controversy is that up to this point, the 27-year-old Kim has simply fared better against major league competition than the 24-year-old Freeland. This was especially apparent in Spring Training, where Kim batted .407 with a .967 OPS in thirty plate appearances while Freeland batted just .111 and had an OPS of .522 in sixty plate appearances.
According to The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya, Roberts explained that Freeland "showed more in at-bat quality than his poor spring numbers indicated" and that he wanted Kim to get every-day at bats down in Triple-A.
It's a reasonable enough explanation, especially with Roberts indicating that Freeland would only start in games at second base against right-handed pitching, likely leaving him with about three starts a week with starts against left-handed pitching presumably going to new addition Santiago Espinal, who has a career .753 OPS against southpaws in 635 plate appearances.
If the Dodgers view Kim as a potential full-time player for their club, it stands to reason that they'd rather him get everyday at bats in Triple-A than spend significant time on the bench in the majors, which is what happened last season.
In his rookie season, Kim appeared in parts of 71 games but had just 170 plate appearances, often entering late in games as a defensive replacement at the expense of getting to hit. In those 170 plate appearances he hit slightly below average, posting a .699 OPS.
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However, Kim's defense is his greatest strength. Kim won multiple Gold Glove awards in the KBO and produced 4 Outs Above Average (OAA) in just 278 innings at second base last season (h/t Fangraphs).
Freeland, who currently ranks as the #8 prospect in the Dodgers' farm system (h/t MLB Pipeline), is viewed as a solid defender in his own right and performed well at Triple-A in 2025, slugging 16 home runs, stealing 18 bases, and totaling an .834 OPS over 508 appearances.
Given the contrast of their Spring Training performances, the optics of choosing Freeland over Kim for the major league roster are not great. But switch-hitting Freeland offers plenty of potential in his own right, and the Dodgers giving him the nod is certainly a vote of confidence in his favor.
