San diego: With their new South Korean player Song Sung-mun's status for next year's World Baseball Classic (WBC) in limbo, San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller said Wednesday his club is "always very supportive" of what its players want to do. Preller spoke with U.S. and South Korean media via Zoom here Wednesday, a day after the Padres announced their signing of Song to a four-year contract.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Song is taking his talent to America after two strong seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for the Kiwoom Heroes. The combination of his productive bat and defensive versatility -- he can play third base, second base, and first base -- makes him a likely choice for South Korea for the March 5-17 WBC. Over the course of the tournament's history, players who switch clubs during offseasons have typically skipped the WBC. The tournament overlaps with spring training games and such players have often chosen to sit out the WBC so that they could make an early impression on their new teams and get acclimated to their new surroundings.

Such needs may be even stronger for players coming in from overseas like Song, who will have to try to earn his spot on the Opening Day roster during spring training. Preller said the team and Song have already discussed the situation, and he fell short of clearing Song to play for his country next spring. "We're always very supportive of what our players want to do and supportive of the WBC," Preller said. "We also understand that he's coming over to the States for the first time and he's going to be anxious to make an impression on the Padres. So that's something that we'll be open minded to and we'll get more clarity here in the next couple of days and weeks."

Song was noncommittal about his WBC participation when asked about it Tuesday, upon his arrival back from San Diego. "I will have to discuss it more with the team, and it's difficult for me to give an answer at this point," Song said. "If the team gives me the go-ahead sign, then I will think about it." The South Korean national team is scheduled to host an early WBC training camp in Saipan from Jan. 9 to 21. Song said a decision will be made, one way or the other, before that.

If Song ends up not going to the WBC, with South Korea's preliminary round set in Tokyo, Preller will be more than happy to have him around in spring training in Arizona. "He's been a very exciting player for us to scout and eventually sign. His progression in the KBO the last two seasons has been a very unique journey," Preller said. "We see him as a two way player. He's somebody that can impact the game on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively. He's been a very productive hitter in the KBO who can control the strike zone, makes really quality contact easily and can impact the ball."

Preller, who had previously signed a former Heroes infielder Kim Ha-seong, said Song also brings other elements to the table. "Over the last few weeks, (we) personally got to see his personality and his demeanor," he said. "He is somebody that's very positive and somebody that is very charismatic and somebody that I think our fans in San Diego will love rooting for. We see him as a really good fit on a team trying to win a championship here in San Diego."