On Monday evening, Atlanta Braves fans received word that the team brought back Ha-Seong Kim. It was the end of what could have been a harrowing scenario for the Braves given just how shallow the shortstop market was this offseason. Sure, Atlanta was saying that they would have been fine if things played out to where Mauricio Dubon was the everyday shortstop, but there is just no way they were excited about that idea.
Moreover, Kim's contract is right up the Braves' alley. We know that Alex Anthopoulos loves one-year deals even if the AAV is higher than they would prefer. Hell, this front office willingly decidedly to give Cole Hamels $18 million guaranteed back in 2019 and he ended up only having 3.1 innings left in the big leagues.
In fact, the circumstances and terms of Kim's deal makes one thing that this was the Braves' plan all along and that they played their hand against his agent, Scott Boras, absolutely perfectly even with other competing multi-year offers on the table.
Infielder Ha-Seong Kim and the Atlanta Braves are in agreement on a one-year, $20 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Kim had multiyear opportunities but will return to Atlanta, play shortstop full-time and hit the free agent market again next winter. @JonHeyman first on it.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 16, 2025
Braves' apparent insistence on a higher AAV one-year deal for Ha-Seong Kim was a stroke of genius
In an ideal world, the Braves probably would have just preferred if Kim had played the last year of his previous contract for $16 million. That would have given Atlanta a full season to figure out what exactly they had with Kim at shortstop and how he would play after a normal offseason and spring training. Unfortunately, the allure of more money in free agency as the best real shortstop available was too much for Kim to pass up.
Most thought that Kim would end up getting a multi-year deal this offseason, but it feels like the Braves knew what his market would be. There were certainly going to be other teams looking to upgrade at short, but Kim's injury history and relative lack of upside at the plate made him an imperfect option. As for why the Braves kept their higher AAV, one-year deal on the table for so long, you have to understand how Boras has operated in recent years.
Boras' sole goal is to get his clients paid as much as possible and he is very good at it. That tenacity has made him a villain in a number of baseball circles, but it has also made him rather predictable. Given that teams have largely avoided the lengthy nine figure deals aside from the absolute best free agents in recent years, Boras has pivoted somewhat to having his clients start taking short-term deals over and over again to get the total amount of money they wanted from the beginning. Pete Alonso had to do it with the Mets last offseason as did Alex Bregman. That Boras has both men as clients was not an accident.
Historically, Atlanta has avoided making deals with Boras when possible. Just because Boras is predictable doesn't mean that the process of dealing with him is fun. However, in this case, the Braves knew what they wanted and they knew how they could get it from the Boras client and the team is now in much better position for it.