Ha-Seong Kim opts out of Braves deal

Middle infielder Ha-Seong Kim is opting out of his deal with the Braves, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He passes on a $16MM salary to return to the open market.

It’s a disappointing but not entirely unexpected development for Atlanta. The Braves claimed Kim off waivers from the Rays at the beginning of September. They weren’t competing but hoped to lock in their starting shortstop for the ’26 season. They instead wound up taking on the remaining $2MM of Kim’s 2025 salary for the final month of a lost season.

Maybe that’ll still turn out to be a worthwhile decision. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said in September he hoped that getting Kim acclimated with the Atlanta organization and clubhouse would give them a leg up even if the infielder decided to head back to free agency. They’ll certainly make an effort to bring him back, but Nick Allen is atop the depth chart at shortstop for the time being.

For the second straight winter, Kim hits free agency with significant questions. He had an outside shot at a nine-figure deal over the 2024-25 offseason until he suffered a labrum tear in his right shoulder in August. Kim required season-ending surgery, leading the Padres to decline to issue him a qualifying offer. He signed a two-year deal with the Rays that guaranteed $29MM and allowed him to retest the market after one year.

Kim’s rehab from the shoulder procedure carried into July. He’d wind up going back on the injured list twice more as he battled lower back issues. Those stints were brief, but his time in Tampa Bay consisted of 24 games with a .214/.290/.321 batting line. It’s certainly not what the Rays wanted for what amounted to nearly $11MM on their part. They were happy to shed the contract in the final month, getting them off the hook for the ’26 option.

The brief stint in Atlanta was a little more encouraging. Kim played 24 games with the Braves. He hit three homers with a .253/.316/.368 slash in 98 trips to the plate. That included a 10-game hit streak in the middle of September, though he recorded only two hits in 25 plate appearances in the final week of the season. He concluded with a .234/.304/.345 line across 191 trips to the plate.

Kim’s camp nevertheless feels he’ll be able to find a multi-year contract that is preferable to the $16MM option. They’ll be aided by the lack of middle infield alternatives on the open market. Assuming Trevor Story doesn’t opt out of the two years and $55MM remaining on his contract with Boston, Kim would be the second-best free agent shortstop after Bo Bichette.

He’ll hit the market without any draft compensation, as the Braves are not permitted to make a qualifying offer because he changed teams midseason. Kim could try to max out on a three-year deal or look for another two-year pact with an opt-out similar to the one he got from Tampa Bay. His old team in San Diego could look for a shortstop to push Xander Bogaerts back to second base. The Giants, Tigers, Royals, Pirates and Brewers are other clubs that look for help at one or both middle infield positions.