Praise for Hyeseong Kim hints at outcome of Dodgers' upcoming roster crunch

Kiké Hernández is on his last step before making his way back to the Dodgers after elbow surgery, having begun a rehab assignment in Triple-A on Tuesday. His impending return has reminded fans that the second base battle from spring training never really ended.

Alex Freeland and Santiago Espinal made the Opening Day roster in Hernández and Tommy Edman's places, but Hyeseong Kim got his shot when Mookie Betts went onto the IL.

There's still no timeline on Edman, who is on a "slow program," but Betts will be starting a rehab assignment "soon" (per Dave Roberts).

Espinal, who is hitting .185 though Wednesday's game, will almost certainly be DFA'ed when Hernández is back, but the Dodgers will have a tougher decision to make when it's Betts' turn.

The Dodgers have never seemed sold on Kim, for whatever reason, but recent praise from first base coach Chris Woodward hints that they may finally be learning what fans already know. He compared Kim's defense to that of four-time Gold Glove winner Andrelton Simmons.

“The talent he has, the work ethic, all the things combined, I've never seen a package quite like that," Woodward said. "I think Simmons at his peak was probably similar. [...] But Kim's work ethic is off the charts. I have to tell him to stop. He wants to go, go, go. The speed, the arm strength, there are certain things he does that I can't teach, mechanically. His hips are so mobile. He can be completely across his body and still throw a ball 100 mph across the field. And you're like, 'That doesn’t make any sense.'"

Dodgers first base coach had nothing but praise for Hyeseong Kim as roster crunches loom

The Dodgers' decision to give Freeland a roster spot over Kim out of camp was inexplicable and can probably just be boiled down to taste. LA has built up a reputation for having an over-hyped farm system that doesn't actually end up churning out productive major leaguers (at least, in recent years), and maybe Freeland could be the exception.

He has been showing signs of life lately, recovering some of that plate discipline the Dodgers loved after striking out 26 times and walking just seven in April. He's struck out twice and walked four times in May, and he picked up a homer during LA's opener against the Astros.

But Kim has been far more consistent since he was called up, and he's hitting .314 with a round .800 OPS, and just looks like the better overall player as one of the only baserunning threats the Dodgers have and with his defensive versatility.

This fight will intensify as soon as Betts actually begins a rehab assignment, but right now, we'd put our money on Kim.

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