Kim Ha-sung (29, San Diego Padres) still boasts value despite his disappointing performance in the first half. While San Diego does not want to put Kim Ha-sung in the trade market, there are reactions that show that there is still demand for him.
The Athletic reported on San Diego’s trade on Wednesday, “Baseball Operations President A.J. Preller will not sit idly by. He will at least work very hard to do something.”
Ahead of this season, he brought in Dylan Shees and gave up four promising players, including Ko Woo-suk, to the Miami Marlins, and even had Luis Arraez as batting king for the second consecutive year. Some say that Prelor desperately needs to enter the fall baseball league in order to preserve his position after the death of Peter Seidler, Prelor’s biggest supporter.
Another way is to focus on rookies. The media said that as rookie Jackson Merrill is enjoying huge success this season, Frelor may want to trade between 17-year-old shortstop Leodalis de Vries and catcher Ethan Salas, but the owner may not allow him to do so, and Merrill’s success may be one of the reasons.
However, he said that fostering prospects is something that he cannot be sure about, and that he may strengthen his power through Garrett Crochet (Chicago White Sox), Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers), or other players favored by other teams.
Another consideration was, “If Padres is out of competition in the next 10 days, will the owner induce Preller to seek a sale, including players such as Kim Ha-sung and Araez?” and added, “I don’t think there will be such a scenario.”
However, there is still a team that wants Kim. Grant Briceby, who covers San Francisco at The Athletic, reported the possibility of recruiting Kim through an article entitled “Six thoughts on San Francisco’s schedule for the next season.” 핑크알바
Assuming that Kim Ha-sung will exercise his free agent status rather than triggering an additional one-year option after the season and San Francisco will recruit him, he expected the match against San Diego to be held on April 30 next year. Briceby said, “How will San Diego react to Kim Ha-sung of the Giants. My guess is that they will give a polite round of applause. A number of fans may give a standing ovation. They expect that Kim Ha-sung is not an essential part of the Padres enough to acknowledge his contribution to pennant races or championships, but he has been a good player for a while and it would be better to recognize that even after signing with a rival team.”
“San Francisco will completely recruit Kim Ha-sung in the offseason. Claim your right to brag about it in San Diego.”
Kim Ha-sung, who recorded a career high last year, has a batting average of 0.226, 10 homers, 40 RBIs, 48 runs and 18 steals, and an OPS (On base rate + slugging rate) of 0.702 in 97 games this season. It is a disappointing performance to exercise FA qualification, but it shows that his value is still being recognized in the market.
One of San Francisco’s weaknesses is its shortstop, which makes it more attractive to see Kim Ha-sung. San Francisco’s shortstop is guarded by Nick Ahmed and Brett Weisley, but Ahmed has been sluggish with a batting average of 0.232 OPS of 0.581 in 52 games. Weisley, a promising player, has a batting average of 0.279 OPS of 0.736 in 45 games, and he seems to appreciate the value of Kim Ha-sung, who boasts of top-ranked defense and fast feet.