The only way the Braves will turn away from Ha-Seong Kim quickly

Ha-Seong Kim hasn’t exactly returned from the IL with grace. The Braves shortstop is just 2-for-23 at the plate to start his season, sporting a gaudy .292 OPS.

Those kinds of numbers are at least understandable. Kim was out of baseball for nearly five months after tearing a tendon in his finger in January — the result of slipping on ice while in Korea. He didn’t participate in Spring Training, and the Braves apparently didn’t feel he needed a lengthy rehab assignment, as he appeared in just nine games on the farm with 28 at-bats before being activated.

Expecting him to come back and immediately hit .300 is nonsensical, and the Braves know that. They should have no problem letting him work through it at the plate, even if that process takes several months.

What the Braves can’t tolerate, however, is porous defense at the most important position on the diamond — and that’s the much more pressing issue. Kim has already been charged with two errors in just seven games, and if we’re being honest, he’s probably responsible for a couple more that didn’t show up in the book, many of which have directly contributed to runs scoring.

That simply cannot happen. Errors change momentum, and more importantly, they crush the will of your own pitching staff. Kim can go hitless until July and they’ll live with it — but they’re not going to keep watching him botch routine groundballs that lead to runs and wear out the guys on the mound, especially when they have options.

Mauricio Dubon filled in splendidly at short to begin the year, and even Jorge Mateo flashed some impressive numbers when called upon — hitting .305 with two homers and an .807 OPS over 29 games.

Twenty million dollars and a significant injury history buys a player a long leash. But that leash gets eaten up in a hurry if Kim can’t prove he can hold down shortstop at a competent level defensively.