The Padres placed Ha-Seong Kim on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 19, with inflammation of the right shoulder. San Diego recalled Matthew Batten to take the open spot in the active squad.
That’s not a huge surprise after Kim left Sunday’s game with what the team initially said was a bruised shoulder. The versatile infielder lunged at first base on a pickoff attempt and was visibly in pain. Manager Mike Shildt said yesterday that the team was encouraged by the initial MRI results but would still have to be without their shortstop for at least a week and a half. Shildt said today that the club wasn’t particularly concerned and believed Kim could be fit within 10 days, but the team decided to play cautiously instead (X-Link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com).
It’s the first stint on the injured list in Kim’s MLB career. The South Korean native has been exceptionally resilient since signing a four-year deal for the 2021 season, reaching the 150-game mark in both 2022 and 2023. While that won’t happen this year, he could surpass 140 games if the injury proves to be relatively minor.
Kim is having his usual solid season. He’s running enough to make up for his poor hitting ability and has a league average of .233/.330/.370 in 470 at-bats. He’s captured 22 bases in 27 attempts. San Diego opted to use Kim as their full-time shortstop this season after shuffling him around the infield his first three years. In more than 1,000 innings at the toughest spot in the infield, he has above-average defensive numbers. Tyler Wade takes over the position of shortstop in his absence.
Kim, 28, will be a free agent again next season. He will almost certainly decline his portion of an $8 million option in favor of a $2 million severance package. Kim has a chance at another four- or five-year contract that would have a much higher average annual value than the $7 million he received when he came out of Korea. A serious shoulder injury could, of course, affect his market value. It seems he has gotten away with a relatively minor problem that could only keep him out of action for a minimal amount of time.
