When the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Hyeseong Kim, it was assumed that he would be the starting second baseman.

However, that might not be so automatic after the first few games of spring training.

Kim, who is known for his defense, is struggling to catch up with Major League Baseball pitching and general manager Brandon Gomes remains non-committal as to where Kim will begin the season.

“I just think there’s so much unknown between now and Opening Day, seeing how the roster plays out and how he looks,” Gomes recently said. “But we’re excited with what he’s brought to the table. The energy, the defense has been really impressive. And then the work ethic.”

“He already has really good bat-to-ball [skills], which is a good foundation, obviously,” Gomes added. “And then being able to impact the ball a little bit more and ride out some off-speed pitches in a better way, there’s definitely some pieces there that we feel like we can address to tap into the upside.”

During batting practice, there have been times when Kim looks overmatched.

In his first four games of the Cactus League, Kim has struggled at the plate, recording just one infield single in nine at-bats, along with two walks, four strikeouts, and only one ball hit harder than 95 mph, the threshold for hard-hit contact according to MLB’s Statcast system.

It has become clear to manager Dave Roberts that Kim might need to take some extra reps at the plate to truly feel comfortable, but that decision doesn’t have to be made right now.

“Right now, he’s in a competition to earn a job with us,” Roberts said. “So I would say that’s still all in play, and we don’t need to make a decision right now.”

As for his hitting, Gomes thinks Kim just need more reps, but the Dodgers will see how he progresses before making any type of roster decision.

“We’ll let the spring play out,” Gomes said, “and see how those things progress.”

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images