San Diego Padres' Kim Ha-seong takes the field as he is introduced prior to a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Korea, March 21. AP-Yonhap

By some schedule quirks this spring, the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season has already begun for two teams, but not so for the 28 others.

The rest of the league will catch up to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres this week, when the new season begins in earnest across the United States.

The Dodgers and the Padres opened their season in the historic Seoul Series last week, and split their two games — also the very first MLB games played in Korea — at Gocheok Sky Dome. They returned home to resume spring training action, before having their first games on American soil Thursday (local time).

The Padres and their Korean star, Kim Ha-seong, will host the San Francisco Giants and their hot-shot rookie, Lee Jung-hoo, to open the U.S portion of their campaign Thursday afternoon. The first pitch is at 1:10 p.m. (local time) at Petco Park in San Diego, or 5:10 a.m. Friday (Seoul time).

Kim and Lee were close friends when they both played for the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Kim was with the club from 2014 to 2020, and Lee made his debut in 2017.

After Kim signed with the Padres, Lee was inspired by his former teammate to do the same and take his talent to MLB. In December, Lee signed for six years at $113 million, the largest contract ever given to a KBO player through posting. As National League (NL) West rivals, the Padres and the Giants will face each other 13 times this year.

San Francisco Giants' Jung Hoo-lee walks to the dugout prior to a spring training baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Scottsdale, Arizona, March 22. AP-Yonhap

Lee, one of the best contact hitters in KBO history, lived up to his hype in his first spring training, as he finished with a .343/.425/.486 line with a home run and two steals in 13 games. He missed some time with injuries but will be ready to roll as the Giants' new everyday center field and leadoff man.

Kim, now entering his fourth big league season, has established himself as an elite defender. In 2023, he won the NL Gold Glove at the utility position, after splitting his time at second base, shortstop and third base. Kim became the first Asian-born infielder to capture a Gold Glove, a year after being a finalist for the award at the shortstop position.

And in 2024, Kim will be back as San Diego's primary shortstop, with Xander Bogaerts moving across the bag to second base.

In the KBO, Kim had been known as a hard-hitting shortstop with 30-homer power and solid, if not spectacular, defensive skills. Kim has become known more for his glove than his slugging in MLB, though he did hit a career-high 17 home runs in 152 games last season while stealing a career-best, team-leading 38 bags.

Kim is scheduled to become a free agent after this season and will likely command plenty of interest as a potential 20-20 shortstop with excellent defensive chops to boot. He will still just be 29 by the time he hits the open market.

Things are looking up for Lee and Kim but not so much for some other Koreans.

San Diego Padres reliever Go Woo-suk pitches against the LG Twins in an exhibition game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, March 18. Yonhap

Kim's teammate in San Diego, reliever Go Woo-suk, was optioned to Triple-A El Paso while in Seoul last week. Go traveled with the rest of the Padres to Korea for exhibition games but did not make the Opening Day roster for regular season contests against the Dodgers. Go, who pitched for the LG Twins in the KBO from 2017 to 2023, signed his two-year deal with the Padres in January and had a short offseason after helping the Twins win the Korean Series title in mid-November 2023.

The Padres have said they will stay patient with the 25-year-old pitcher, who finished his first spring training with a 12.60 ERA over five innings in six outings. He gave up three runs — two unearned — on three hits in 2/3 of an inning against the Seattle Mariners in San Diego's final spring training game Tuesday.

Also in the NL, veteran first baseman/designated hitter Choi Ji-man will begin the new season in the minor league for the New York Mets, after signing a split contract with them last month.

Under a split contract, a player earns different amounts of money based on the time he spends in the majors and in the minors. Choi will be with Triple-A Syracuse to start the season after batting a disappointing .189/.318/.324 with a home run and five RBIs in 16 spring training games.

The Mets on Saturday signed veteran designated hitter J.D. Martinez, who belted 33 home runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, essentially sealing Choi's fate, at least at the beginning of the new campaign.

Bae Ji-hwan of the Pittsburgh Pirates will start the season on the injured list while dealing with a left hip flexor injury. Bae hasn't played since March 5. In 11 spring training games, he batted .273 with an RBI, two steals and a .773 on-base plus slugging percentage.

A former Pirates player, Park Hoy-jun, led the Oakland Athletics with 21 hits in 23 spring training games but will still begin the year in Triple-A Las Vegas.

Park, who was a non-roster invitee to spring training, finished the exhibition season with a .477/.478/.659 line and struck out only twice in 44 at-bats. But the A's decided to give younger players a chance early on while the 27-year-old Park bides his time. (Yonhap)