Kim Ha-seong (28, San Diego Padres) is rapidly emerging as a strong candidate for the Boston Red Sox to try to trade.
The American sports media ‘The Athletic’ mentioned Kim Ha-seong while recommending a trade as a reasonable way for Boston to reinforce a shortstop on the 11th (Korean time). Boston desperately needed reinforcements this winter as its main shortstop Zander Bogaerts (31) signed an 11-year, $280 million (approximately 350 billion won) contract with San Diego. Starting this year, he tried to find a breakthrough by appointing Trevor Story (31) as a shortstop, but even that became difficult as Story underwent elbow surgery.
The Athletic said, ‘Although players like Elvis Andrews (35) and Jose Iglesias (33) remain on the free agent market, neither of them are cards that can reasonably replace Bogatz or Story. Boston’s options are very narrow, but they need to turn their attention to the trade market,’ he insisted.
Kim Ha-seong was recommended as a trade candidate. The American media has been steadily mentioning Kim Ha-seong since the moment Boston needed to reinforce a shortstop. Because of Bogarts, Boston has to recruit a substitute, and because of Bogarts, Kim Ha-seong has been pushed out of the starting lineup and turned into a trade card. 메이저사이트
The Athletic said, ‘If Boston can’t make a splash with a versatile superstar anyway, they can focus on making up for one shortcoming. In theory, San Diego is the club that best fits this approach. San Diego has consistently expressed its desire to discuss with other clubs the league’s best defenders, shortstop Kim Ha-seong and center fielder Trent Grisham (27).
Next, ‘Kim Ha-seong played good defense as a shortstop last year, and was also a useful hitter. If Boston targets Kim Ha-sung and Grisham, who should they give to San Diego? Tanner Hook (27) would be a reasonable suggestion to bring Kim Ha-seong. If Boston wants to sign both Kim Ha-sung and Grisham, giving away hooks will be just the beginning,” he added.
Right-hander Hook made his big league debut in 2020 and can be used both as a starter and out of the bullpen. It is a card that San Diego, which needs to strengthen its starting lineup, will show interest in. His overall performance in three big league seasons was 53 games (20 starts), 9 wins and 9 losses, 146 innings, and an average ERA of 3.02.
Kim Ha-seong played full-time as the starting shortstop last year, recording a batting average of 0.251 (130 hits in 517 at-bats), 11 homers, and 59 RBIs in 150 games. He had another year of growth in his second year in the big leagues, including being a finalist for the National League shortstop Gold Glove for his outstanding defense.
Ha-seong Kim is constantly proving his worth, but San Diego’s greed to collect infielders has repeatedly discouraged him. In 2021, he was coldly pushed by Fernando Tatis Jr. (24), the main shortstop, and this year, by paying a large sum for Bogarts, the club indirectly expressed that it was not satisfied with Ha-sung Kim alone.
Is Boston picking Kim Ha-seong as a replacement for Bogatz and guessing the trade card? These days, when the American media frequently mentions Kim Ha-sung as a trade candidate, I am more and more curious about what uniform he will wear for the new season.