It is difficult to envision a world right now where the Atlanta Braves willingly give Ha-Seong Kim much of a chance to win his shortstop job back. While Jim Jarvis didn't do himself any favors over the weekend, odds appear to be good that the Braves would prefer him there or to move Mauricio Dubon back to short and add an outfielder over giving Kim the reins again coming off another IL stint. With Atlanta needing to solidify their playoff position, they need to field the best team possible, and it just doesn't look like that includes Kim in the lineup.
So where does that leave the Braves and Kim? Well, Kim is a free agent after the season, so there isn't a long-term roster/payroll issue to contend with. However, even keeping him beyond August 2, when his rehab assignment must end, could cause Atlanta some roster problems on the eve of the trade deadline.
As a result, more and more observers have started to theorize that the Braves could trade Kim ahead of the deadline. That is a nice idea, but finding a taker for Kim at this point isn't a sure thing at all.
Trading Ha-Seong Kim would be ideal, but the Braves may find getting any value for him very difficult
The fundamental problem here is that teams that are buyers at the deadline are looking for an immediate impact on their roster. Extra team control is a nice bonus, but the reason why deals get done is that there are contending teams that need to address a roster hole (or three) over the final two-ish months of the season. The problem Kim has is that he neither has any extra team control attached to him nor is there much hope he will contribute much the rest of the season.
At an AAV of $20 million for 2026, Kim has a pretty hefty salary when compared to most rentals. Once you factor that in, along with the fact that he was also one of the worst hitters in baseball before he went on the injured list again, what exactly is the Braves' sales pitch here? "Don't worry, he has looked good on rehab assignment"? There are some desperate executives out there, but that feels like a stretch.
If Atlanta just gave Kim away, they could probably find a taker, and that may be what ends up happening. Everyone knows about the Braves' impending roster crunch and that they would probably prefer to just move on from Kim altogether. Why give up anything of value or commit to any of Kim's salary when the Braves are pretty likely to release Kim in the near future?
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