Infielder Kim returns to Braves on 1-year, $20 million deal

The Braves on Monday extended their relationship with Ha-Seong Kim for another season, re-signing the infielder to a one-year, $20 million contract to become their starting shortstop, the team announced.

Kim, who initially joined the Braves when they claimed him off waivers from the Rays on Sept. 1, became a free agent in November after he opted out of his $16 million contract option. That option was part of the two-year deal he signed last offseason that guaranteed him $31 million. All told, the move gained Kim an extra $4 million while still returning him to an Atlanta clubhouse where he felt comfortable.

“I do know he liked the experience,” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said. “It was just a comfort, like anything, when you’re around someone and you get to know him and how well he fit in.”

On the whole, 2025 was a frustrating campaign for the Bucheon, South Korea, native, whose Rays debut was delayed until July as he rehabbed from surgery the previous October to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Kim strained his calf shortly after returning and twice landed on the IL with back injuries. But after the Braves claimed him, Kim stayed healthy and notably improved, batting .309/.372/.456 over his first 19 games with his new team -- numbers dampened only by a 1-for-19 stretch to close out the season.

His month-plus in Atlanta was a factor in the Braves re-signing him, Anthopoulos noted.

“I can tell you it helped on our end, just from a comfort standpoint,” Anthopoulos said. “I feel like even though he wasn’t here that long, a month was pretty significant. He fit in quickly.”

Limited to just 48 games on the year -- 24 for Tampa Bay and 24 for Atlanta -- Kim slashed .234/.304/.345 (83 OPS+) with five home runs. He also had -3 Outs Above Average on defense.

That performance stood as an outlier to his previous work, especially with the glove. The shortstop joined the Padres on a four-year, $28 million deal in December 2020, coming over to Major League Baseball after seven seasons in Korea’s KBO. Over those four years, Kim produced a .242/.326/.380 slash (99 OPS+) with 47 homers and 78 steals in 540 games, adding 23 OAA.

“He’s only 30,” Anthopoulos said. “It’s someone that we liked last offseason, but we just knew it wasn’t the cleanest fit because there was a world when he came back [from surgery], he would have to play second base initially, an obviously we had Ozzie [Albies] at that spot.”

Kim had his best season in 2023, setting career highs in homers (17), steals (38), OPS (.749) and bWAR (5.4) and winning a Gold Glove at the utility spot. The Padres made Kim their full-time shortstop in 2024, even after having signed shortstop Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million deal in December 2022.

“We think there’s some more power there,” Anthopoulos said. “We think the speed is going to continue to come back to where it was, the stolen bases, the baserunning, the defense and so on. So I think we’ve got a very good chance to get the guy he was those years with San Diego. That could be a 3- to 4-WAR player.”

Back in Atlanta, Kim will push veteran Mauricio Dubón into a bench role. Dubón, whom the Braves acquired from the Astros last month, features a similar skillset as a solid defender with a contact bat. But Kim boasts more power and has been a strong everyday player in the past. When the Braves signed him, Anthopoulos called Dubón to explain the situation.

“We never promised him a role or anything when we got him,” Anthopoulos said. “He understood if we didn’t do anything at the shortstop position, he would get that opportunity. But the little I've gotten to know him -- and I’ve told him this -- the energy’s off the charts, a [good] teammate [who has] the ability to play plus defense everywhere, hit left-handers, all that stuff. … This was an opportunity in our mind to improve the ballclub, improve the depth.”