ATLANTA — Braves manager Walt Weiss knows exactly what Ha-Seong Kim is capable of when he’s at his best.

“If we get him back to playing the way we know he can, it makes us better as a team,” Weiss said.

With Kim opening the season in a prolonged slump, going 5-for-52 at the plate, and the Braves owning the best record in baseball at 45-21, opportunities have been difficult to come by.

For now, Atlanta’s priority has been simple: Keep its hottest and most productive players in the lineup.

As a result, Kim has found himself in a reduced role while working to regain the form that made him such a valuable contributor in prior seasons. On a club chasing wins every night, playing time has become something that must be earned rather than guaranteed — even if Kim is making $20 million this season.

“Sometimes, these decisions aren’t easy,” Weiss said. “When you’ve got a guy like Kim, who’s been a really good player in this league, and he’s trying to find his way, you try to walk that fine line of trying to get him back up to speed, and at the same time you’re trying to win games.”

Last week, Weiss opted to play Mauricio Dubón at shortstop in three consecutive games. Dubón rewarded that decision by going deep in each of those games, the first three-game home-run streak in his career.

During a late-May trip through Boston and Cincinnati, Kim sat out three straight games while Jorge Mateo played shortstop and homered in back-to-back games. During that stretch, the Braves had Kim focus on his timing and swing in the cages. They felt it allowed him to work on his craft without feeling pressured to perform immediately in games.

Kim has not had a spring training in back-to-back seasons. In 2025 with the Tampa Bay Rays, he was sidelined until July 4 as he recovered from shoulder surgery, and he didn’t heat up until the Braves claimed him in September.

He hit .253 with three home runs and 12 RBIs down the stretch last season, good enough for him to return to Atlanta this year. Still, he opened the season on the injured list after undergoing offseason surgery to repair a tendon in his right middle finger. The Braves activated him on May 11.

Spring training is an instrumental part of the season for most players. It allows hitters to work on a variety of mechanics in a relaxed environment. The 52 at-bats Kim has had this season are roughly equivalent to the higher end of a spring training sample. Thanks to his finger injury, Kim has had to shake off his rust at the plate under regular-season conditions.

Sure, he’s catching up to speed, but the expectation to deliver for his club still looms large. Some players come to the plate with a game plan, but quickly abandon it if it doesn’t quickly lead to the desired results.

Kim continues to put in the work, having conversations with hitting coach Tim Hyers through his interpreter, David Lee, and consistently reviewing video of his batting-practice swings on the team’s iPad.

He had an RBI single against Patrick Corbin last Wednesday in a win over the Toronto Blue Jays, breaking a 0-for-14 skid, but that was his lone knock of the week.

“The speed of this game is just very different, especially for guys that haven’t had spring training,” Weiss said. “This carousel is going really fast, and you have to try to jump on in the middle of a season. It’s difficult, but Kim is going to be fine.”

Braves banking on Austin Wynns to bring offensive output

The offensive production at catcher has significantly decreased since Drake Baldwin went on the injured list, with Braves catchers going 1-for-22 in 12 games heading into Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Braves are hoping Austin Wynns can add a spark offensively behind the dish.

“The offensive potential is there,” Weiss said. “Guys stick around later in their careers; there’s a reason for that. It’s (the) game plan that gets to handling a pitching staff, the baseball IQ, especially at that position.”

The 35-year-old is known for his game planning, which the Braves have made clear was among their reasons for acquiring him. However, compared to Sandy León and the recently designated-for-assignment Chadwick Tromp, Wynns has shown a burst of offensive production.

“This is a blessing,” Wynns said. “This is where I want to be. I feel like I can definitely be a good asset to the team.”

Wynns had his best season in 2025, hitting .291 with six home runs and 21 RBIs, split between the Cincinnati Reds and the Athletics. It was good enough for the A’s to re-sign him as the backup catcher, but he was designated for assignment after starting this year 3-for-39 over 14 games.

After signing a minor-league contract with the Angels, he hit .333 with two home runs and a .955 OPS in Triple-A Salt Lake before the Braves acquired him Thursday night.

Although Wynns is with the Braves for the first time, he is familiar with Mike Yastrzemski, as they were both part of the same Baltimore Orioles draft class in 2013. Wynns also caught Braves reliever Tyler Kinley when the two were teammates on the Colorado Rockies in 2023.

Wynns’ strongest connection in the Atlanta clubhouse is with lefty pitcher Dylan Lee; they both attended Fresno State and have kept in touch throughout their professional careers.

Wynns has been in the league since 2018, and the Braves left a strong impression on him in the limited time he’s been with the team.

“They can get punched in the face and then answer back,” Wynns said. “It’s just like, that’s a winning culture, and there’s no panic. Everyone has a job to do, and this team is older, so everyone just gets it.”