Only time will tell, but the Braves’ acquisition of shortstop Ha-Seong Kim feels like it could be a quintessential Alex Anthopoulos deal.
Buy low on a player who has a track record but whose value has dropped and is now poised for a rebound.
Josh Donaldson and Chris Sale are among the crowning deals that the Braves president of baseball operations and general manager has made in his eight-year tenure that fit that pattern. And, as the Braves try to build the roster for 2026 after this forgettable 2025, Kim could join them. For the Braves, who have received splendid defense at shortstop from Nick Allen this season but not much at the plate, it looks like a risk worth taking.
The Braves claimed Kim off waivers Monday from the Tampa Bay Rays, who let him go after signing him to a two-year deal worth $29 million last offseason. Kim previously was with the San Diego Padres, with whom he hit .242 with an OPS of .706 in four seasons after six full years in his native Korea.
This year, Kim, who turns 30 in October, did not play with Tampa Bay until July 4 as he returned from shoulder surgery. He then played 24 of the team’s next 39 games with calf and lower-back injuries.
Further, he did nothing special at the plate, hitting .214 with a .612 OPS. Out of contention and wanting to give a shortstop prospect a look, Tampa Bay put Kim on waivers.
This is why it makes sense for the Braves. They will owe Kim about $2 million for the remainder of the year. They are counting on Kim, who has a $16 million player option for 2026, to elect to take the option rather than try free agency. Given his diminished marketability as a player who has missed time with injury and underperformed this season, it would seem likely.
And then the Braves can benefit from Kim going into 2026 in the last year of his deal in which he presumably will be healthy and motivated to show his worth ahead of the following offseason. It’s not unlike the Braves’ situation with Donaldson, who signed a one-year deal for 2019 after two injury-ridden seasons. He then put up MVP-type numbers to revive his value before signing a four-year deal with the Minnesota Twins the next winter.
For Kim, he has worth to show. In 2023, his Wins Above Replacement total (per Sports Reference) ranked 10th among National League players. He hit .260 with 17 home runs and an OPS of .749 while earning a Gold Glove as a utility player for his work at shortstop, second and third.
In the 2022-23 seasons, he had a combined 10.4 WAR, nearly matching Matt Olson (10.8) and the shortstop who trod the same Truist Park infield dirt that Kim will — Dansby Swanson (10.7).
Not unlike many Braves, though, Kim has dipped since 2023. He hit .233 with a .700 OPS in 2024 and had his season cut short by a shoulder injury that later required surgery.
Kim can be extended the benefit of the doubt that his performance this season (.214 batting average and .612 OPS in 24 games) is related to his midseason return from surgery. He’ll go into 2026 with a fresh start. He’ll be on a team that’s been competitive; he’ll have the opportunity to be the everyday shortstop; he’ll be with at least one former teammate that he counts as a friend (former Padre Jurickson Profar), and perhaps not insignificantly, he’ll be in a city with a large Korean community.
The risk is that Kim will continue to be more like the hitter he has been in 2024-25 — .230 batting average, .685 OPS — than what he was in 2022-23 or that injuries will follow him into 2026.
Regarding the latter, particularly given the size of his contract, it is highly unlikely that the Braves acquired him without having done enough homework to feel assured that he’ll be healthy in 2026. (He did play a total of 302 games in 2022-23.) And this decision to bring him aboard didn’t come out of the blue. The Braves are known to have inquired about Kim at the trade deadline. Now they’ve acquired him for the cost of his salary.
And as far as how he hits in 2026, there’s no telling for sure. But if he doesn’t turn it around, at least he’d be only on a one-year deal.
It’s also possible that Kim finishes the season on a tear and decides to test free agency, although there would be no loss for the Braves. And even if he did, the Braves would have the advantage of having given him a month’s test drive in their environs that potentially could help in retaining him.
But the potential upside — an excellent shortstop glove capable of producing at an All-Star level — makes it worth a shot. If the Braves can have the Kim from 2022 and 2023 at $16 million, he would be a relative bargain. And while it’s reasonable to wonder if Kim can do that, Anthopoulos does have a history of success with these decisions.
It may be a harbinger of the Braves’ plans to be aggressive this winter. Among players under contract for 2026, Kim’s $16 million is behind only three Braves in terms of average annual value.
There are moves still to be made, particularly with the starting rotation and bullpen. But this one looks like a step in the right direction.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
