From the beginning, the Atlanta Braves' decision to bring Ha-Seong Kim back last offseason has been a painful one. Most fans were happy that Alex Anthopoulos made the move, as Kim had played pretty well after Atlanta acquired him in 2025 and was certainly better than the vast majority of the other options at shortstop. However, a combination of injury issues and ineffectiveness has turned the signing into a nightmare.
All of this has already been litigated to death previously. Most agree that adding Kim back was a horrible mistake, and one that we are highly unlikely to relive in 2027. However, the problem is that the Braves keep playing Kim at shortstop in the playoffs, and their reasoning for doing so doesn't make as much sense as they would lead you to believe.
The question is would you start Lane Thomas in RF against a righty? More importantly, as some of you have pointed out, it would be nice to have Murphy behind the plate. He has caught all of Mahle’s starts. Ronald not playing RF weakens the lineup multiple ways https://t.co/VufARiSIeO
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 7, 2026
Playing Ha-Seong Kim is the wrong decision for the Braves to make, no matter what Ronald Acuña Jr.'s knee problems are
The argument being pushed to justify the decision is that Ronald Acuña Jr.'s knee is bothering him and forcing him to move to DH, the Braves can't play Sean Murphy at catcher, and they have to play Mauricio Dubon in the outfield, thereby necessitating Kim starting at short. That makes some sense on paper, but doesn't reflect the reality of playing Kim these days.
If the Braves really want Murphy catching, they should let him catch and give Drake Baldwin a day. Given how Baldwin is hitting at the moment, there wouldn’t be much of a loss there anyway. Alternatively, letting Baldwin catch gives him a chance to play his way out of the slump, and he was really good on ABS in Game 2. Either choice doesn't require the Braves to compromise their plans much.
As for Dubon, this is a fake forced choice. If the Braves played Dubon at shortstop, that would leave Brewer Hicklen, Mike Yastrzemski, and Lane Thomas to cover two outfield positions. Regardless of which arm the opposing pitcher uses, is Kim a better hitter in the lineup than any of those three guys? The answer is no.
If Kim was actually playing well defensively, there would at least be some sort of argument. However, Kim made multiple misplays in Game 3 alone that helped drive up Sale's pitch count. He isn't helping in any phase of the game right now. Unfortunately, that likely won't deter the Braves from playing him in Game 4, and it could cost them dearly.
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