The Braves have claimed infielder Ha-Seong Kim off waivers from the Rays, in line 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 listing to open a 40-man spot. Riley is completed 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 slightly below $2MM left to be paid out. The second yr is a $16MM participant possibility.
That deal was the Rays betting on Kim having the ability to play at his typical stage after shoulder surgical procedure completed his 2024 marketing campaign. Over the 2022 by way of 2024 seasons with the Padres, Kim had slashed .250/.336/.385 for a 106 wRC+. He had stolen 72 bases in that span and acquired sturdy grades for his protection at second base, third base and shortstop. FanGraphs credited him with 10.5 wins above alternative for that three-year span.
With the surgical procedure, he was anticipated to be on the injured listing to start out 2025, which dampened his market. Some argued he was trending in the direction of a nine-figure deal earlier than he received harm. As an alternative, he opted for the short-term, opt-out construction. Ideally, it could have labored nice for either side. If Kim had bounced again to his earlier ranges of efficiency, he might have taken the shortstop job in Tampa after which opted out. At that time, the Rays might have given him a qualifying supply and acquired compensation as he returned to the open market in search of a bigger assure.
It has not performed out that means. He was initially reinstated from the IL in early July. Since then, he has twice gone again on the IL resulting from 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 possibility. That might have put $16MM on Tampa’s books for subsequent yr. That’s not an enormous 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 Area, they’ve needed to transfer to George Steinbrenner Area, usually a minor league facility. That transfer has undoubtedly led to a whole lot of unexpected prices and presumably much less income than typical. Work remains to be being performed to get The Trop prepared for 2026 and it’s unclear how that may play out. On prime 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.
Extra to come back.
