Ha-Seong Kim, who joined the Atlanta Braves late last season, will stick around for at least one more year.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old free agent signed a one-year, $20 million contract with the Braves on \u200dMonday, and he will remain the team\u2019s starting shortstop, according to Atlanta\u2019s president of baseball operations, Alex Anthopoulos.<\/p>\n
By turning down a $16 million contract option last month, Kim wound up getting an additional $4 million.<\/p>\n
Atlanta claimed Kim off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays on Sept. 1, and beginning the next day, he started all \u200cbut one of the Braves\u2019 remaining games.<\/p>\n
Kim hit .309 with \u200ca .372 on-base percentage, three homers and 12 RBIs in his first 19 games for Atlanta. He closed the season by going 1-for-19 with no RBIs over the last five games.<\/p>\n
Anthopoulos said of Kim\u2019s decision to stay with the Braves, \u200baccording to MLB.com, \u201cI do know he liked the experience. It was just a comfort, like anything, when you\u2019re around someone and you get \u200dto know him and how well he \u200bfit in.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recovery from a shoulder injury kept Kim sidelined \u200bfor the first half of the 2025 season with Tampa Bay, and \u200dhis brief time with the Rays was marked by other injuries. He wound up playing just 24 games for Tampa Bay and hitting .214 with a .290 on-base percentage, two homers and five RBIs.<\/p>\n
A Gold Glove winner for the Padres in 2023, Kim spent the first four seasons of his \u200dmajor league career in San Diego. He hit .242 with a .326 on-base percentage, 47 homers, 200 RBIs and 78 stolen bases in 540 games as a Padre \u200dfrom 2021-24.<\/p>\n
In 588 career \u200dmajor league games, Kim has a .242 average, a .324 on-base \u200bpercentage, 52 home runs, 217 RBIs and 84 \u200bstolen bases.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe \u2060think there\u2019s some more power there,\u201d Anthopoulos said, according \u200cto MLB.com. \u201cWe think the speed is going to continue to come back to where it was, the stolen bases, the baserunning, the defense and so on. So I think we\u2019ve got a very good chance to get the guy he was those years with San Diego. That could be a 3- to 4-WAR \u2060player.\u201d<\/p>\n
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