The opener: Kim, White Sox, White

As the first weekend of 2025 approaches, here are three things we’ll be watching for around baseball:

1. Hyeseong Kim’s deadline to sign is fast approaching:

We don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but there’s a good reason for that Hyesung Kim is back at the top of The Opener for the second straight day. The KBO star was released last month, and his negotiating window officially opened on Dec. 5, giving him 30 days to sign a contract with an MLB team. He now has less than eight hours left before his posting window closes this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. CT.

MLBTR ranked Kim the no. 26 on our Top 50 Free Agents list this winter, predicting he would sign a three-year, $24MM deal. However, his name has not appeared in many rumors or reports since he was deployed. If Kim does not sign today, he will return to his KBO team, the Kiwoom Heroes, for the 2025 season. Seam Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News points out that Kim will be an unrestricted free agent next offseason, meaning he won’t need to be posted a second time if he wants to pursue an MLB career. That could improve his chances of striking a deal. Not only will he have more time to negotiate, but his new team won’t be forced to pay a release fee to sign him.

2. White Sox 40-man draft incoming:

The White Sox have a full 40-man roster, which means they’ll have to make room Josh Rojas before they can finalize his signing. The free agent infielder reportedly agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Chicago on Thursday, but the team has yet to confirm the news. Financial details of the deal are something else to watch this weekend – today they have not been reported.

Earlier this week, the White Sox traded left-handers Tyler Gilbert and designated infielder Braden Shewmake for assignment to make room on the roster. Thus, their 40 man is currently quite pitching heavy, with 24 arms and only 16 position players. With that in mind, it seems more likely that the White Sox will cut a pitcher to make room for Rojas.

3. Owen White’s DFA solution:

After signing the free agent reliever Hoby MilnerRangers DFA former top prospects Owen White to get a place on the 40-man roster. Since then, White has been waiting in limbo. Typically, teams have seven days to resolve a DFA, but that timeline can be extended between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Now that the holiday season is over, however, the Rangers will have to trade White or place him on waivers, presumably before the end of the weekend.