The Braves have a clear problem to solve this offseason, but the answer at shortstop should not be another Ha-Seong Kim-style move.
After Atlanta fell to the Dodgers in four games in the NLDS, the focus naturally turns to the roster spots that broke down. The pitching deserves attention, sure. But the bigger hole sits in the middle of the lineup setup, where shortstop has become a major question and left field is part of the same puzzle.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report called shortstop and left field the Braves’ “biggest roster hole,” and he pointed toward a likely platoon arrangement if Atlanta brings back Dubon. In his view, that would still leave the Braves needing at least one more option in the LF/SS mix - “probably a right-handed hitting shortstop, with Yaz's left-handed bat starting in left against righties while that TBD SS typically starts against southpaws.”
That kind of split-role setup may be where Atlanta ends up. But it should not be built around a repeat of the Kim gamble.
Kim was a poor fit for the Braves this season, and the one-year deal they handed him proved to be a costly miss. He finished the 2025 MLB season with a .684 OPS, and Atlanta had already gone well overboard by giving him a one-year, $20 million contract last offseason.
Even if injury had never entered the picture and he had played a full 2026 season, the price still would have looked steep for a player who doesn’t offer much at the plate.
That’s the lesson Atlanta should carry into this winter. The Braves need offense first when they start filling that shortstop and left field void, and they can’t afford to spend big on another player who is unlikely to be a real difference-maker with the bat.
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