The Atlanta Braves continue to be allergic to losing this season, sitting at 36-16 with a 10.5-game lead in the National League East.
They are currently taking on the Washington Nationals in a three-game Memorial Day weekend set. On Friday night, Chadwick Tromp was the hero with a pair of clutch hits in extra innings to lift the Braves to a 5-4 win. On Saturday, the Braves play at 4:10 p.m. EST, and before the Nationals game, Atlanta announced its lineup, which does not feature Ha-Seong Kim.
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Ha-Seong Kim Ridding Pine on Saturday
For the second time in the last three games, Ha-Seong Kim is absent from the Atlanta Braves’ order. In the offseason, Ha-Seong Kim signed a one-year, $20 million contract with the Braves after being claimed from the Rays late in 2025. Also in the offseason, the Braves completed a player-swap deal with the Houston Astros for Mauricio Dubon.
CBSSports writes (on May 23): “Kim has notched a base hit and scored a run in each of his last three games, but he’ll take a seat on the bench Saturday while Mauricio Dubon starts at shortstop, batting seventh.”
The Braves may feel more comfortable with Dubon’s bat in the lineup, given his early impact with the team.
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Ha-Seong Kim’s Struggles Right Now…
It’s been a very limited sample size, but Ha-Seong Kim has struggled a bit to start 2026.
In 31 at-bats, he has a -0.4 bWAR, a .129 average with four hits and zero extra-base hits.
Over 133 total at-bats (two seasons) with the Braves, Kim is hitting .220 with an OPS+ of 71.
The only thing holding back the Ha-Seong Kim contract decision from being a big failure is the fact that the Braves appear not to really need him.
You can’t blame Atlanta’s front office either because they were at such a crossroads with the shortstop position last season, and made it a point of emphasis to spend some money on potentially valuable players.
Ha-Seong Kim will certainly get more chances in the future to be the starting shortstop, but if he doesn’t produce soon with the bat, Atlanta will be left no choice but to continue rolling with Mauricio Dubon.
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Atlanta Braves Make Ha-Seong Kim Announcement Before Nationals Game