The Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly interested in free-agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim, according to sources, including Jim Salisbury of NBCSports.com.
“According to sources, the Phillies are eyeing that type of player in free agent Ha-Seong Kim. The veteran infielder has played mostly shortstop during his six seasons in the majors. The Atlanta Braves signed him to a one-year, $20 million contract last December and planned to use him as their regular shortstop in 2026. That plan collapsed a month later when Kim tore a tendon in the middle finger of his right hand when he slipped on ice in his native South Korea. The injury required surgery and Kim was limited to just 51 games.”
As Salisbury notes, the Atlanta Braves inked Kim to a one-year, $20 million contract last offseason, which clearly turned out to be a bust of a contract, but luckily for the Phillies, that brought his value way down, and perhaps the Phillies have an opportunity to buy very low here and reap the benefits of a bounce-back season from Ha-Seong Kim.
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Ha-Seong Kim Had Disastrous 2026 Season with the Braves
2026 is certainly a year that Ha-Seong Kim would like to put behind him.
While he did battle some serious injuries, Kim also severely underperformed with the Braves.
Across 129 at-bats in ’26, Kim batted .129 with 15 hits, and just 2 XBH. His OPS+ was a whopping 2. He also wasn’t great in the field, which is supposed to be his calling card. Over 51 games played. Kim’s bWAR was -0.7, and it forced the Braves to have a revolving door at the shortstop position.
MLBTR.com’s Darragh McDonald wrote about the Phillies’ reported interest in Kim:
“The issue with Kim is that he is a few years removed from his best form. From 2022 to 2024, he got into 423 games for the Padres, hitting 39 home runs and stealing 72 bases. He slashed .250/.336/.385 for a 106 wRC+. FanGraphs credited him with 10.5 wins above replacement for that stretch, an average of more than three per year.”
McDonald also made a good point that Kim actually profiles well in the Phillies infield, which is expected to change this offseason with Alec Bohm being a free agent, and Trea Turner perhaps being booted to the outfield.
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Kim Could be a Solid Depth Piece for the Phillies
If the Phillies do happen to sign Ha-Seong Kim, nothing indicates that he necessarily has to be an everyday player for Philly, or a middle-of-the-order bat.
The Phillies would just be banking on Kim being a good depth piece and a plug-and-play type of acquisition. Philadelphia has Aidan Miller perhaps on the verge of being MLB-ready, but as noted, if Kim could just find a way to bounce back in 2027, whoever lands him would be glad for that reason.
Over parts of six seasons and 639 total MLB games played, Kim carries a lifetime batting average of .234 with 52 home runs, 226 RBI, and an OPS+ of 91.
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