Kim Ha-seong’s $16M Option Gamble: Braves Brass Braces for Free Agency Frenzy, or a Home Run Stay in Atlanta?
By Jordan Hale, Special to The Athletic
ATLANTA — The chop blocks of Truist Park still echo with the crack of bats from a season that slipped through the Atlanta Braves’ fingers like a bad-hop grounder. But as the September sun dips low over the outfield, all eyes turn to shortstop Ha-seong Kim, the 29-year-old Korean dynamo whose glove has sparkled like a stolen base under the stadium lights. Since the Braves scooped him off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays on Labor Day, Kim has been a revelation: a .327 batting average, a home run, eight RBIs, and defensive wizardry that has turned potential errors into web-gem highlights. Yet, with his $16 million player option for 2026 looming like a high-leverage pitch, Kim holds the cards. Exercise it, and Atlanta gets a bargain-bin superstar locked in. Decline, and he bolts to free agency, where rivals like the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres lurk, ready to poach the super-utility star who could tip the NL East scales.
Kim’s journey to this crossroads has been anything but linear. Signed to a two-year, $29 million pact with the Rays last January after declining a mutual option with his old Padres club, the deal included that juicy opt-out after 2025 — a nod to his Scott Boras-fueled belief in a bigger payday. But 2025 turned into a nightmare reel: shoulder surgery from a 2024 labrum tear sidelined him until May, and a midseason hamstring tweak with Tampa kept him shuttling between the IL and the Tropicana Field bench. His overall line? A middling .255 average across 42 games, with flashes of the Gold Glove brilliance that earned him utility honors in 2023. The Rays, ever the cost-conscious rebuilders, designated him for assignment in late August, paving the way for Atlanta’s waiver wire heist. Now, with just weeks left in a Braves campaign marred by injuries to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley, Kim’s audition has become the offseason’s opening act.
Front office whispers paint a picture of quiet desperation in the Braves’ war room. General Manager Alex Anthopoulos, architect of the 2021 World Series core, has long coveted a shortstop upgrade since Dansby Swanson bolted to Chicago in free agency. Ozzie Albies, the three-time All-Star second baseman, has slumped to a .234/.303/.350 slash line this year, his worst since debuting in 2018, with club options looming that could tie up $21 million over the next two seasons. Enter Kim: a switch-hitter who can man short, second, or third with equal aplomb, his 2025 splits showing a .280 mark from the right side and elite range metrics that outpace 90 percent of MLB infielders. Teammate Jurickson Profar, who overlapped with Kim in San Diego from 2021 to 2024, has been his biggest cheerleader. “He’s like a brother,” Profar gushed after a recent series sweep, recounting late-night hangouts and shared workouts that forged a bond now pulling Kim toward the Peach State. “If he stays, we’re talking playoffs. His energy? It’s contagious.”
But the Braves aren’t the only suitors circling. Free agency could net Kim $20 million-plus annually on a long-term deal, per industry projections, especially with the middle-infield market thinner than a rain-shortened doubleheader. The Tigers, eyeing a defensive anchor for their young core, have scouted him aggressively since his Padres days, viewing his 64 career starts at third as a fit alongside Javier Báez. Back in San Diego, where Kim became a fan favorite with a .242/.326/.380 line over four years and down-ballot MVP votes in ’23, the Padres haven’t closed the door on a reunion. GM A.J. Preller, fresh off navigating Xander Bogaerts’ positional shuffle, sees Kim as the versatile glue for a contender eyeing another October run. Even the Yankees, per backchannel buzz, have floated multi-year offers, dangling pinstripes and proximity to Korean-American communities in the Bronx.
For Atlanta, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Their payroll, hovering near the $241 million luxury tax after splashy winters past, gives them firepower to extend beyond the option if Kim opts out — perhaps a three-year, $48 million pact with incentives tied to games played, accounting for his injury history. Anthopoulos has the track record: locking up Matt Olson and Sean Murphy amid rebuilds. But rivals smell blood. A Kim defection could force the Braves into overpaying for retreads like Amed Rosario or trading prospects for a half-measure. “We’re all in on making this work,” one club source confided. “Ha-seong’s not just a player; he’s the spark we lost after Acuña went down.”
As Kim fields grounders under the Atlanta dusk, his decision feels like extra innings in a tie game. Opt in, and he bets on stability with a Braves squad primed for a 2026 rebound, complete with a rotation bolstered by free-agent arms. Opt out, and the free-agent gold rush beckons, with Boras whispering visions of eight-figure guarantees. Whichever path he chooses, one thing’s clear: the man who once dove headfirst into pickoff attempts won’t shy from the spotlight. In a league where versatility is currency, Kim’s swing could either seal Atlanta’s fate or launch him to stardom elsewhere. For the Braves, it’s simple — keep the Korean shortstop, or watch rivals steal the base.
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