Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim has reportedly returned to Korea without a contract despite receiving offers from five teams, including the San Diego Padres.

Kim traveled to Los Angeles on November 29 to train and prepare for the publishing process with the support of his American agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

However, he returned home without a deal on December 23rd and there was little buzz surrounding the 25-year-old during his time in the US

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According to a Kiwoom Heroes representative, Kim’s return was due to his military commitments.

Although he received a waiver by winning gold at the 2023 Asian Games, he is still required to complete 544 hours of community service over 34 months in lieu of active service. After completing a three-week basic training program in November, athletes in his situation are only allowed to stay abroad for a limited time.

Kim was assigned to MLB teams on December 4 following the 2024 season with the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). According to the agreement between the KBO and MLB, sent players have 30 days to negotiate a deal or must return to the KBO for another season.

Kim’s closing deadline is 2:00 p.m. PST on Friday or 7:00 a.m. Saturday in Korea. If no agreement is reached, he will only be able to publish contributions again from November 1, 2025.

However, after one more season in the KBO, Kim will become a free agent and will not have to go through the posting process to reach the majors.

Kim had an outstanding 2024 season, setting career highs with 11 home runs, 75 RBIs and a .458 slugging percentage. He hit .326, which was his fourth consecutive .300 season, and stole 30 bases, extending his streak of 20-plus steals to seven consecutive years.

Since debuting in the KBO in 2017, Kim has compiled a career line of .306/.364/.403 with 211 steals – the most in the KBO since 2018.

The Padres are in the market for another center fielder due to the expected departure of Ha-Seong Kim and hesitancy to use Xander Bogaerts at shortstop. Known for his defense, Hyeseong primarily plays second base but also has experience at shortstop and third base.

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