Hyeseong Kim’s revamped swing could be his ticket onto Dodgers’ Opening Day roster

The spring training battle for the last few spots on the Dodgers' bench has been a little painful to watch. Chris Taylor, Hyeseong Kim, Andy Pages, and James Outman are all in the running for two spots, but none were able to make an impression in Cactus League play straight out the gate. By Feb. 27, after a loss to the Rockies, those four players were a collective 8-for-45 at the plate with 24 strikeouts.

There have been some signs of life since then. None from Taylor or Pages, who have gone 0-6 in his their two games since then, but from Outman and Kim, who both hit their first homers of spring training on March 1 and 2.

Kim is the most fascinating quantity of any of them because of his newcomer status to MLB. He's a four-time Gold Glove winner in the KBO and there's no question that he's stellar on defense, but his offense is another thing entirely.

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported that the Dodgers had completely overhauled Kim's swing and plate approach at the start of spring, hoping to maintain his bat-to-ball efficiency (he had a career .304 average in the KBO) while trying to find more power (.403 slugging). It's a lot to ask of a guy who would've had a lot to get used to even if he'd kept his same old swing, but the Dodgers might finally be seeing the returns on their efforts.

Hyeseong Kim's first homer of Dodgers spring training comes after complete overhaul of his swing

Kim was always sort of an odd target for the Dodgers to begin with, as a team that very plainly doesn't prioritize defense. Kim was an obvious upgrade from Gavin Lux in that department, and is more versatile than Lux, but the question was whether or not the bat would get there as well. Lux still paled in comparison to some of his superstar teammates last season, but he did have an .899 OPS in the second half of the year.

One home run isn't a magical fix by any teams, but it could indicate a shifting of the tides. The Dodgers only owe Kim $12.5 million over the next three years — a paltry number, compared to a lot of Dodgers contracts — and have already suggested the possibility that they could start him in the minors.

But let's hope it doesn't come to that. With Outman and Pages still struggling and less versatile on defense than Kim, he'll be the better option to put on the bench if he can keep putting the pieces together.