Ha-Seong Kim chose Braves over four-year offer

The Braves were able to land Ha-Seong Kim on a one-year contract despite him receiving several multi-year offers, including one for four years and $48 million, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

“The Athletics tried for free agent shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, offering him a four-year, $48 million contract with room to grow, according to a person briefed on the discussions,” Rosenthal wrote. “Kim, 30, instead opted for a one-year, $20 million deal with the Atlanta Braves and the chance to return to the open market next season.”

Of course, the $20 million AAV Kim received from the Braves was significantly higher than what he would have earned annually with the Athletics, but he still chose the opportunity to return to Atlanta over the security of a four-year deal that could have eventually climbed north of $50 million.

That tells us two things. First, the one-month trial run the Braves gave Kim after signing him off waivers late in the season clearly paid off. Second, Kim fully believes in his ability to bounce back and re-enter free agency as a far more attractive commodity next offseason.

Atlanta is betting that Kim’s struggles last season were primarily injury-related. He graded out below average both offensively and defensively, production that obviously isn’t worth $20 million per year. But when healthy, Kim has been a 3–4 WAR player who offers an elite glove at shortstop with above-average offense.

If that’s the version of Kim the Braves get in 2026, they’ll be thrilled, and there will be offers waiting for him next offseason that make four years and $48 million look modest by comparison.

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