Getty The San Francisco Giants might target an infield upgrade by trading for Ha-Seong Kim at midseason
The San Francisco Giants emerged as one of the top spenders in MLB this offseason, shelling out more than $241 million to add premier players like Blake Snell, Jorge Soler and Jung Hoo Lee.
But as they look to make a playoff run in the ultra-competitive NL West, Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Reporter predicted that the Giants are also a potential fit for a midseason trade to acquire 2023 Gold Glove utilityman Ha-Seong Kim, who is in the final season of a four-year, $28 million deal with the San Diego Padres.
“The Padres only have a 36.9 percent chance of making the playoffs,” Rymer noted. “Given how good the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks also are, they may be as likely to finish fourth in the NL West as they are to finish second, let alone first.”
Rymer added that the Giants, as well as the Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals are all potential fits for Kim, but the Giants might be the most compelling suitor given their current roster.
Ha-Seong Kim Would Be a Shortstop Upgrade for the San Francisco Giants
Their offseason spending, highlighted by the opt-out focused deal for Snell, suggests the Giants are in “win-now” mode and Kim would be a clear upgrade for them at shortstop. Nick Ahmed has started five games there in the early going, an 11-year veteran with a career slash line of .234/.288/.376. Kim, meanwhile, has a career .245/.325/.383 slash line in four big-league seasons.
“Despite his proximity to free agency, Kim would stand to be one of the top targets on the trade market at multiple levels,” Rymer added. “He’s a Gold Glove-winning defender and trending upward offensively after posting a .749 OPS, 17 homers and 38 steals in 2023.”
Kim could also be a fit for the Giants at second base, where Thairo Estrada has started the first six games. In six career seasons, Estrada has averaged .260/.313/.408 at the plate and he’s struggling to open the 2024 campaign, going .174/.167/.304 so far.
The San Diego Padres Seem Likely to Trade Ha-Seong Kim at Midseason
The Padres did trade for Dylan Cease toward the end of the offseason, marking a commitment to making a run at the playoffs for 2024. But, should that fail to materialize, Kim would be a likely trade candidate thanks to a competitive market for his services as well as his current contract situation.
“Of course, the Padres could extend Kim,” Rymer noted. “But failing that, they can’t rely on him picking up his end of his 2025 option and would thus have to field offers if their season goes awry.”
It should also be noted that both Lee and Kim were superstars with the South Korean KBO league and that Giants manager Bob Melvin was Kim’s manager with the Padres last season as well.
“The Jung Hoo Lee and Bob Melvin connection makes this such an obvious move and the unpredictability of baseball practically begs for an active and engaged front office to act now rather than hope and pray that everything breaks as you project a year from now,” Bryan Murphy urged for the McCovey Chronicles.