Atlanta’s $20 million bet at shortstop has turned into one of the strangest lines of the season.
Ha-Seong Kim has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons in 2026, and the numbers are brutal: a .128/.228/.138 slash line with a 25.2% strikeout rate across 123 plate appearances. For a player who signed a one-year, $20 million deal with the Braves last offseason, that kind of production is hard to square with the price tag.
Kim’s year never really got a clean start. His spring training was thrown off by an offseason ice skating accident that tore a tendon in his right middle finger, and he has been trying to recover his form ever since.
Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller called Kim Atlanta’s worst “bang for your buck” player this season. Miller pointed out that the stat line looked even uglier before Kim finally strung together a little bit of life on Sept. 1, when he went 3-for-3, then picked up his first extra-base hit of the season the next day on what Miller described as “a hustle double on a slow line drive.”
Even with that tiny uptick, the bigger picture is still bleak. Kim’s season almost certainly leaves him without a Major League contract before next season begins, and it’s tough to see a front office handing him an Opening Day job before he proves himself again in spring training.
“He has dealt with multiple significant injuries over the past two years, but it's hard to believe this is the same guy who racked up 28 home runs and 60 stolen bases between the 2023 and 2024 campaigns in San Diego,” Miller wrote.
The Braves are still hoping Kim can contribute something offensively in the postseason, but even that comes with a question mark. His place on the postseason roster is far from settled.
In Other News...
Braves Quietly Added A New Arm And The Bullpen Implications Matter
The Braves picked up another arm just as the regular season enters its final stretch, claiming right-hander Michael Grove off waivers from the Rays while Tampa Bay was sorting through its own late-season roster moves. Grove gives Atlanta another live option to plug into the pitching mix, and any addition at this stage tends to carry extra weight for a bullpen that can always use more coverage as the calendar winds down.
The move also came against a backdrop of more shuffling elsewhere on the Rays' roster, with Tyler Wells landing on the 15-day injured list because of right forearm tightness and ending his regular season. Alex Cook was brought up from Triple-A Durham to take Wells' place, while Jake Fraley returned from the 60-day injured list and Kenny Piper was sent back to Triple-A, a reminder of how quickly September roster management can change the look of a pitching staff. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Move On From Pitcher Still Trying To Rebound From Surgery
The Braves added another arm to the organizational pile Monday, claiming right-hander Michael Grove off waivers from the Rays and sending him to Triple-A Gwinnett. It is the kind of depth move that can matter more than it looks on the surface for a club trying to survive a rash of rotation injuries, especially with a pitcher who has worked both as a starter and a reliever in the majors.
Grove had been designated for assignment by Tampa Bay before Atlanta stepped in, giving the Braves a low-cost way to keep a familiar major league option in the system. For now, he gives them some extra flexibility at Gwinnett while the bigger question remains how soon the big league staff can get healthier. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Deadline Pickup Is Suddenly Fueling A Serious MLB Debate
Tyler Mahle has become one of the more interesting pitching stories in the league since landing with Atlanta at the deadline. In seven starts with the Braves, he has turned in a 1.25 ERA, a stretch that has not only stabilized the rotation but also forced people to reexamine how the trade market looks in hindsight. When a pitcher arrives at a lower cost and immediately performs like this, it is hard not to compare the deal to the bigger names that changed uniforms around the same time.
Jeff Francoeur has already gone as far as calling Mahle the best pitcher to move midseason, and the argument has enough fuel to keep circulating. Tarik Skubal has been solid with the Dodgers over the same number of appearances, but Atlantas return has been the cleaner headline so far, especially considering what it took to get Mahle. Still, these evaluations are always fluid this time of year, and the final verdict may depend on how both pitchers finish the season. [Read more 🡒]