The Braves have claimed infielder Ha-Seong Kim off waivers from the Rays, in keeping with bulletins from each golf equipment. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the declare previous to the official bulletins. Atlanta transferred Austin Riley to the 60-day injured record to open a 40-man spot. Riley is accomplished for the season following core surgical procedure.
It wasn’t beforehand reported that Kim was on waivers, nevertheless it appears the Rays quietly put him on the market to attempt to shed his contract. Atlanta obliged, so the Rays will get out from underneath that deal. Tampa signed him to a two-year, $29MM pact within the winter. He’s making $13MM this yr, with just below $2MM left to be paid out. The second yr is a $16MM participant choice.
That deal was the Rays betting on Kim having the ability to play at his traditional degree after shoulder surgical procedure completed his 2024 marketing campaign. Over the 2022 via 2024 seasons with the Padres, Kim had slashed .250/.336/.385 for a 106 wRC+. He had stolen 72 bases in that span and obtained sturdy grades for his protection at second base, third base and shortstop. FanGraphs credited him with 10.5 wins above substitute for that three-year span.
With the surgical procedure, he was anticipated to be on the injured record to begin 2025, which dampened his market. Some argued he was trending in the direction of a nine-figure deal earlier than he bought damage. As an alternative, he opted for the short-term, opt-out construction. Ideally, it will have labored nice for either side. If Kim had bounced again to his earlier ranges of efficiency, he may have taken the shortstop job in Tampa after which opted out. At that time, the Rays may have given him a qualifying provide and obtained compensation as he returned to the open market in search of a bigger assure.
It has not performed out that manner. He was initially reinstated from the IL in early July. Since then, he has twice gone again on the IL attributable to again issues. Across the IL stints, he has performed in 24 video games and produced a measly .214/.290/.321 line.
Provided that efficiency and the harm absences, it’s attainable that Kim is trending in the direction of triggering his participant choice. That may have put $16MM on Tampa’s books for subsequent yr. That’s not a large sum and the Rays have little or no dedicated to subsequent yr’s membership, however they’re additionally coping with loads of uncertainty.
As a result of hurricane injury to Tropicana Discipline, they’ve needed to transfer to George Steinbrenner Discipline, usually a minor league facility. That transfer has undoubtedly led to lots of unexpected prices and presumably much less income than traditional. Work remains to be being accomplished to get The Trop prepared for 2026 and it’s unclear how that may play out. On high of all that, the franchise is actively being bought and it’s unclear what kind of payroll the brand new house owners will give the entrance workplace as they concentrate on constructing a brand new stadium.
It appears they most popular to let Kim go and avoid wasting cash versus conserving him round and hoping for higher outcomes subsequent yr. They’re 5.5 video games out of a playoff spot. They don’t seem to be completely buried however are seemingly comfortable to save lots of the rest of the cash, attributable to these big-picture questions. They may use the rest of the common season to proceed giving reps to shortstop prospect Carson Williams. He was promoted when Kim’s most up-to-date IL stint began simply over per week in the past. Williams has huge questions on his penchant for strikeouts however he clearly has energy and is taken into account a powerful defender.
Atlanta, nonetheless, is in a really completely different state of affairs. They usually run one of many bigger payrolls within the league. They got here into 2025 seemingly hoping to duck underneath the aggressive stability tax. Again in February, chairman Terry McGuirk mentioned the membership nonetheless had some powder dry for in-season strikes.
This yr has changed into a nightmare season for the membership. As a consequence of a number of accidents and a PED suspension for Jurickson Profar, they fell behind their opponents and had been by no means in a position to get well. They at present have a 62-75 file and are 11 video games again of a playoff spot.
President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has been utilizing that dry powder to attempt to begin engaged on the membership’s 2026 comeback season. He acquired Tyler Kinley from the Rockies forward of the deadline and claimed Jake Fraley off waivers from the Reds. Kinley is making $3MM this yr and has a $5MM membership choice for subsequent yr. Fraley is making $3.125MM and will probably be due a increase through arbitration for 2026, his remaining season of membership management.
Claiming Kim is an identical transfer however with bigger numbers. As talked about, Kim is making $13MM this yr and can make $16MM subsequent yr. It’s theoretically attainable that Kim will get sizzling down the stretch and opts out. That may make this declare go for naught, however the membership would solely lose a bit of cash in that situation. Presumably, they’re hoping Kim decides to set off his choice and keep, so it appears they assume $16MM is a nice worth for betting on a bounceback subsequent yr.
It’s an attention-grabbing gambit for his or her center infield, a state of affairs that MLBTR’s Steve Adams lately took a detailed have a look at, in a put up for Entrance Workplace subscribers. Atlanta has had Nick Allen at shortstop this yr. He’s a powerful defender however is actually the worst hitter within the majors by a noticeable margin. Amongst guys with at the very least 400 plate appearances this yr, Allen’s 53 wRC+ is useless final. Ke’Bryan Hayes is second-last on that record, with a 67 wRC+. Getting one other shortstop and bumping Allen right into a bench position appeared like a key factor on the to-do record for subsequent yr.
Nevertheless, the offseason choices weren’t going to be nice. Bo Bichette goes to be the highest free agent however Atlanta hasn’t actually spent so much in free company recently. Beneath Anthopoulos, their largest expenditure on the open market has been $65MM for Marcell Ozuna. With Bichette probably trending in the direction of one thing within the $150-200MM vary, it didn’t seem to be Atlanta could be the favourite to land him. Buying and selling for somebody like Trevor Story or Javier Báez could have been attainable nevertheless it’s unclear if their respective golf equipment would make them accessible they usually include considerations of their very own.
Fairly than wait round and cope with the offseason uncertainty, Atlanta seemingly most popular to easily seize Kim now. That provides $16MM to subsequent yr’s books however they’ve some monetary flexibility opening up. Ozuna and Raisel Iglesias are each impending free brokers. Every of them individually are making $16MM this yr, the identical wage that Kim is ready to make subsequent yr, assuming he doesn’t return to free company.
Rosenthal notes that Kim is able to come off the IL. Which means Atlanta can use the ultimate few weeks of the season to get a have a look at him. It appears they’re hoping that Kim appears good however decides to set off his choice, due to this fact fixing their shortstop query for subsequent season.
Along with this declare, the Rays introduced that right-hander Kevin Kelly has been recalled and outfielder Richie Palacios reinstated from the 60-day injured record. These are their two September call-up strikes, with Palacios taking the 40-man spot vacated by Kim.
Photograph courtesy of Robert Edwards, Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Pictures
