Ha-seong Kim’s form is Crazy! After Rising to 6th Place as a FA
Ha-seong Kim’s value rises. As it was ranked 6th in the FA rankings for the 2025 season, high expectations are being raised even before the start of this season.
CBS Sports, a local U.S. media outlet, evaluated the rankings of major league free agents (FA) in 2025 on the 17th (Korean time).
The media said, “The opening of the Major League is now less than a month away. Several players are scheduled to participate in camps in Arizona or Florida, and the regular season will soon begin after exhibition games.
He continued, “We would like to take a look at next winter’s free agent (FA) market in advance. 먹튀검증
The free agent rankings for next season that we have selected are listed in order of the players’ expected average annual salary
just like the free agent rankings announced every year.”
The first place winner of the honor selected by CBS Sports was Juan Soto of the New York Yankees.
The media said, “The biggest trade this winter was Soto’s transfer to the New York Yankees.
In particular, Soto is expected to sign a large free agent contract in the off-season next year.
He has shown good health, appearing in 150 games and recording 140 OPS+ during the four seasons he played full-time.
He showed a trustworthy performance in both performance and performance.”
“As we saw with Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) last winter, the Yankees tend to let free agents be evaluated on the open market first,” he said.
Soto’s agent here is Scott Boras. Boras’ ability to sign is better.” “When the contract is over, Soto will receive the largest contract among free agents next year,” he said.
Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros ranked second, and National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burns of the Milwaukee Brewers ranked third.
Next was Jack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies, and in fifth place was Jose Altuve, star player of the Houston Astros.
And ‘Awesome Kim’ Kim Ha-seong followed. While there are many All-Star players ranked from 1st to 5th,
Ha-seong Kim also received a good FA prediction ranking. CBS Sports predicted, “Kim Ha-seong has above-average defense, batting ability, walks, and stolen bases.
He will have an interesting year this season.” However, he added, “Strictly speaking, San Diego and Kim Ha-seong have a mutual option for the 2025 season.
If he performs well this season, he will likely be able to become a free agent without exercising the mutual option.”
At the same time, he said, “It remains to be seen whether San Diego General Manager AJ Preller will ask for a contract for 2025.
General Manager Preller will want to stay with Kim Ha-Sung,” adding, “As of now, it is predicted that Kim Ha-Sung will sign an extension contract with San Diego.”
Ha-seong Kim entered the major league in the 2021 season and left a total of 419 games in the big league with a batting average of 0.245, 324 hits, 36 home runs, 153 RBIs, 56 stolen bases, and an OPS of 0.708.
Ha-seong Kim’s 2023 season was literally a successful season. Not only did he leave behind the best performance among Korean major league hitters of all time,
but he also established himself as San Diego’s new leadoff (number one hitter).
The challenge to join the 20-20 club was aborted, but Ha-seong Kim’s final performance of the season was 152 games,
a batting average of 0.260, 17 home runs, 60 RBIs, 84 runs, 140 hits, an on-base percentage of 0.351, and an OPS of 0.749, making next season even more anticipated.
Ha-seong Kim was one of the three finalists for the Gold Glove Award in two categories: National League second baseman and utility.
In the second base category, he faced fierce competition with Nico Horner (Chicago Cubs) and Bryson Stutt (Philadelphia Phillies), but the golden glove went to Nico Horner.
In the Fielding Index (SDI) developed by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), as of August 14 (since undisclosed),
it recorded the highest score of 8.3 among its competitors, but fell behind in the coaches’ vote.
Kim Ha-seong, who unfortunately missed out on the second base gold glove, finally won the gold glove in the utility category.
The three utility finalists were Ha-seong Kim, Mookie Betts of the LA Dodgers, and Tommy Hyun-su and Edman of the St. Louis Cardinals.
From defensive indicators, Kim Ha-seong showed better performance than the two players.
In DRS, Ha-Seong Kim left a higher figure than Betts (+9) and Edman (+3) with +16. In addition, he ranked second (+9) in OAA (Outs Above Average) after Edman (+10).
Ha-seong Kim commanded the entire infield last season except first baseman. He played the most games at second base (106 games, 856⅔ innings),
followed by third baseman (32 games, 253⅓ innings) and shortstop (20 games, 153⅔ innings), and he won the utility category award by showing good defense in all weathers. This is the first Korean player and the first Asian infielder to win the Gold Glove.
Ha-seong Kim’s four-year guaranteed contract with San Diego ends after this season. He has a $7 million mutual option for the 2025 season
but if he shows good performance like last season again, he is expected to hit the market without any reason to use the option.
However, if it is CBS Sports, he is predicted to remain in San Diego. However, this does not mean that there is no possibility of Kim Ha-seong being traded.
On the 16th, another U.S. local media outlet, Bleacher Report, said, “We saw a case in which Seattle traded with Arizona and San Francisco in the offseason.
If Seattle recruits Ha-seong Kim through a trade with San Diego, it will join Houston and Texas in the American League West this season.
We can become a candidate to win the district,” he said.
The media added, “If Seattle uses Ha-seong Kim as a second baseman, they will use Urias and Rojas as third basemen.
In terms of Seattle’s prospects for this season, recruiting Ha-seong Kim appears to be a goal.”
It didn’t end here. MLB Trade Rumors, a local U.S. media outlet, also said on the 15th
“The San Diego Padres have already drawn widespread interest in Kim from rival teams.”
At the same time, “Kim Ha-seong has shown outstanding performance over the past two seasons, recording an fWAR (FanGraphs win contribution figure) of 8.1. He has good hitting ability, excellent base running, and the best defense,” he said.
We made a profit of $10,000. Ha-seong Kim, who is approaching the final season of his contract, is likely to have a short time with San Diego,” he explained.
He continued, “It is certain that Ha-seong Kim, 28, will hit the free agent market this coming winter.
If the Padres are not willing to sign an extension with him, the only possibility left is for him to be traded.”
He also said, “It would be an attractive idea to trade Ha-Sung Kim’s remaining year and the future of San Diego.”
He added, “It is much cheaper for San Diego to acquire a starting pitcher than to bring in a replacement infielder for Ha-Sung Kim by trade.
Also, San Diego would like Jackson Merrill. He specifically raised the possibility of a trade, saying, “He will enter the infield in 2024.”
According to the media, the clubs that may need Kim Ha-seong include “the LA Angels and New York Yankees, as well as small market clubs such as Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City.”
17 teams, including Milwaukee, Toronto, Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit, Chicago Cubs, Miami, Minnesota, Atlanta, Boston, and Philadelphia.” The
media said, “Big league clubs will take a closer look at the Kim Ha-seong trade ahead of the upcoming season. will be.
Because Ha-seong Kim is likely to receive a qualifying offer, even if he only plays for one year through a trade and moves as a free agent
the team that has Ha-seong Kim will have the option to receive a draft pick,” he said.
In particular, he is the most likely trade candidate among the 17 teams. He chose the Tampa Bay Rays. He predicted,
Tampa Bay, which can aim to win the World Series, is likely to focus on trading Kim Ha-seong.”