KBO infielder Kim Hye-seong leaves for LA to prepare for MLB posting

SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean star infielder Kim Hye-seong left for Los Angeles on Friday to prepare for a potential jump to Major League Baseball (MLB), his Seoul-based club said.

The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Kim took a Friday afternoon flight out of Incheon to Los Angeles, where he will be training at a facility prepared by his U.S. agency, Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Kim, 25, will be posted for interested MLB clubs sometime this offseason, after completing eight seasons -- seven full seasons -- with the Heroes. He stated his major league dreams late last year and the Heroes said in January that they would post him after the 2024 campaign.

Kim went on to post his best offensive season in 2024, with career highs of 11 home runs, 75 RBIs and a .458 slugging percentage. Kim batted .326 for his fourth consecutive .300 season and swiped 30 bags, his seventh consecutive year with at least 20 steals.

He continued to play stellar defense at second base and was recognized with his second straight KBO Fielding Award on Tuesday.

After the awards ceremony that day, Kim said the posting process would begin after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday and he would travel to America at some point.

The Heroes said they did not inform media of Kim's traveling schedule because CAA wanted to keep things low key before the posting process.

The Heroes added that they have not decided when Kim would be posted and they were in talks with CAA on that matter.

Once the Heroes inform the KBO of Kim's availability, then the South Korean league will ask the MLB Commissioner's Office to notify its 30 clubs of Kim's posting.

Under an agreement between the two leagues, once a KBO player is posted, any of the 30 MLB clubs can negotiate a deal with that player within a 30-day window.

The negotiating period begins at 8 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) the morning after MLB notifies its 30 clubs of the player's availability and ends at 5 p.m. ET on the 30th day.

KBO teams receive a "release fee" if they lose a player to MLB through posting, and the amount will depend on the guaranteed portion of the player's contract.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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