It is hardly a secret that the Atlanta Braves' shortstop situation is decidedly not great. Nick Allen is a strong defender, but he is physically incapable of impacting a baseball with his bat and the recently acquired Vidal Brujan is not much better. While most fans thought that Atlanta would be waiting until the offseason to address shortstop, they may have gotten a head start on that search on Labor Day.
This time of year, one just has to hope that the right player on the right salary becomes available on the waiver wire. Your odds aren't completely terrible if you are looking for arms, but replacing a key spot in the field especially with the elimination of waiver wire trades is almost impossible.
However, the Braves may have done just that as they claimed Ha-Seong Kim off of waivers from the Rays. To make room for Kim, Atlanta moved Austin Riley to the 60-day IL.
The Braves have claimed shortstop Ha-Seong Kim from the Rays on waivers, sources tell @TheAthletic. Kim is owed ~$2M rest of the season and has a $16M player option for next season. Braves get to look at him for a month. Ready to come off IL with lower back inflammation.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 1, 2025
Braves surprise pretty much everyone after claiming Ha-Seong Kim off of waivers
Kim has only played in 24 games this season as he was recovering from shoulder surgery to start the season and has been dealing with lower back inflammation in August. However, Kim's infield defense is basically unimpeachable and at around $2 million the rest of the season, Atlanta is taking a worthy gamble that he can stay healthy here.
The real question is what happens after the 2025 season ends. If Kim struggles the last month of the season with the Braves, he will almost certainly exercise his $16 million player option which isn't exactly money well-spent at a position Atlanta really needs to upgrade. However, if he plays well, Kim (as well as his agent, Scott Boras) could try to test free agency again now that he has recovered from his surgery. Again, this is a shallow shortstop market and Kim has a Gold Glove for a reason.
Again, there are some weird 2026 implications that will have to get sorted out later. Given how shallow the shortstop free agent class is this coming offseason, adding Kim and hoping he chooses to stay may actually be the best option for the Braves. If Kim decides to leave or (worse) he stinks, Atlanta is going to be back at square one at shortstop and a bit lighter in their wallets for their trouble.