Ken Rosenthal on the injury to Ha-Seong Kim

Not even the offseason can save the Atlanta Braves from yet another crippling injury. Just a month after Ha-Seong Kim inked a one-year, $20 million contract to stay in Atlanta, he reportedly slipped on ice while in Korea and tore a ligament in his finger — an injury expected to keep him sidelined for 4–5 months.

It’s a gut punch for an organization that has dealt with relentless injury issues over the last two seasons, and the fact that it happened to a newly signed free agent makes it even more frustrating. This comes just a year after Jurickson Profar was suspended for 80 games shortly after the Braves signed him to a $42 million contract. Still, Ken Rosenthal believes Atlanta’s shortstop situation should not be considered dire.

“Ha-Seong Kim, the whole idea was that he was going to stabilize shortstop for them, enable them to use Mauricio Dubónin in more of a utility role,” Rosenthal said on Foul Territory. “That is not going to happen, at least not right away. The expectation among Braves people is that Ha-Seong Kim is going to be out until about mid-May, could be a little bit longer than that — these things you never quite know.

“But if they get him back in mid-May, they’ll go with Dubón for six weeks or so, and they’ll probably find some external option to give them a backup if Dubón needs a day off here or there. They’re okay. They’re not in a horrible spot because they acquired Dubón before signing Kim.”

It feels highly unlikely the Braves allocate any more of their remaining resources toward further addressing the infield. They acquired Dubón for this exact scenario — a player capable of filling in virtually anywhere on the diamond — and they also signed Jorge Mateo to a one-year deal to cover for Dubón when needed. The timing is discouraging, but Dubón is fully capable of playing quality baseball and helping Atlanta weather this injury over the first 6–8 weeks of the season.

If the Braves do make another significant move, it’s still expected to come on the pitching side. They’ve been linked to Freddy Peralta, and there’s still plenty of time between now and Opening Day for something to materialize.