Dave Roberts' Hyeseong Kim update confirms Dodgers' position battle never really ended

The Los Angeles Dodgers are still fighting to keep their first-round bye, but they're already prepping for their 14th consecutive postseason appearance — and there are a number of questions they still need to answer.

Will Shohei Ohtani be ready? Does Edwin Díaz make the roster? Will Andy Pages be available? Is Roki Sasaki ready to return to his role as the Dodgers' vaunted postseason closer?

Every option to try to make up for these weaknesses is being considered. Even Hyeseong Kim, who has spent the majority of this season at Triple-A Oklahoma City.

"My expectation is Hyeseong will be here during the off-week and potentially be a conversation for the postseason — because he has the ability to run, play defense, and steal a base," Dave Roberts said, "So he's in the conversation, yes."

Alex Freeland is probably the most dispensable player on the Dodgers' active roster. If he's left behind, it'll be proof that their second base battle never truly declared a winner.

Dave Roberts hints at Hyeseong Kim return for Dodgers' postseason run

Kim was last seen in the majors from early April to late May. He was initially called up to replace Mookie Betts who went onto the injured list with an oblique strain. Kim hit .259 with a .651 OPS before being sent back down. His numbers in Triple-A have been nothing to write home about either (.675 OPS).

But Kim was on the Dodgers' postseason roster last season. His contributions were few — he earned a pinch-running appearance in the NLDS and was a defensive substitution during the World Series — and he didn't pick up a bat.

But Freeland is hot, and is hitting .375 with a 1.149 OPS over his last seven games. His ability to get on-base, the attribute that really put him on the map to begin with, has slowly come back to him. He has a .413 on-base percentage in September.

Clearly, this is a conversation the Dodgers are going to have to continue unless they trade one or both of these players. If Kim and Freeland survive the offseason together, they'll probably have to do it all over again next year.

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