The Red Sox have the players to fill out an entire infield on Opening Day right now. However it would come with a lot of risk, a good deal of upside, some downside, and two or three injury red lights. So they should probably explore an addition or two whether by trade or free agent signing.
Who is he and where does he come from?
Ha-Seong Kim is a 30-year-old infielder from South Korea. During his time in MLB he’s played with the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, and Atlanta Braves. Over his five MLB seasons he’s been a shortstop (350 games), second baseman (132 games), and third baseman (79 games). He can run (38 steals in 2023) too and can, probably, chip in double digit home runs to go along with the double digit steals. He’s missed time and has a short career in MLB so there is a lot of uncertainty here but also a fixed skillset.
When Kim came over in 2021 he had an uneventful rookie season at age-25: .202/.270/.352 at the plate. The question was: will the bat come stateside too? And it did. Over the next two seasons Kim combined for a .256/.338/.391 line with 28 home runs and 50 steals. He even received MVP votes in 2023, although we can tap the brakes: he finished 14th. But there is a lot to like in his overall player profile. Except that 2024 was a down year that required shoulder surgery after the season. And then he spent a good portion of 2025 on the IL, was cut by the Rays who signed him in the off-season, picked up by Atlanta (who, remember, was a mess) and generally didn’t play well.
TLDR; just give me his 2025 stats
In 93 plate appearances for the Rays, Kim slashed: .214/.290/.321.
In 98 plate appearances for Atlanta: .253/.316/.368.
Now, he was definitely a bit better in Atlanta, which could have been due to more recovery time since the surgery, the specific opponents, or luck. But no matter how you slice it he was a shadow of his former self. Comparing this to his the 2023 performance on Statcast though and you see some similarities. The broad strokes look….kinda similar. He wasn’t hitting the sweet spot, his strikeout and walk performances were worse, but there was a lot of 2023 Kim here. Though surely Tampa and Atlanta each new this.
Why would he be a good fit on the Red Sox?
The Red Sox infield has one set position right now: Trevor Story at shortstop. And he was signed originally to play second base next to Xander Bogaerts. Also, it’s gone rough for Story until 2025. Having a capable backup shortstop is probably a good idea.
After Story we have…Marcelo Mayer to player second or third base.
Triston Casas at first base.
And a little bit of questioning.
Kristian Campbell is an outfielder now.
Sure, resigning Alex Bregman helps. Or signing Pete Alonso. Or trading for Ketel Marte.
While Story has struggled to stay on the field recently he had a track record in the majors. Marcelo Mayer might be great in 2026 but he hasn’t shown more than the ability to defend at the major league level. He hit enough last year to stick if he stays healthy but that’s it.
Boston is a team with some money at its disposal. It can solve this problem.
Why wouldn’t he be a good fit on the Red Sox?
MLB Trade Rumors estimates his contract at 2 years and $30 million. And maybe up from there as the only other shortstop of note on the free agent market aside from Bo Bichette. If Boston has something like $80 million to play with, you take $20 off the top for Sonny Gray. That patched one hole. Can they they swing Bregman/Alonso (if they add a Big Name) and a guy like Kim? Probably? Hopefully?
It’s a lot to commit depending on what you believe Mayer will do. Or any of the lesser shortstop/infield options. Maybe the Sox just need one more guy who can field and take over short or the Mayer position “in a pinch.” Not a starter?
We don’t know how much 2022-23 Kim is in there or if he’s more 2021 and 2024-25 Kim going forward.
My preference for the infield would be to land Bo Bichette. However it really seems like the Blue Jays are in this for the long haul and if players will go to Toronto, there is money to pay them. So if he’s essentially off the market, and the Sox can still grab another Big Name, I say smash. If this is a two year deal and he’s even decent that’s moveable to accommodate the farm or needs on the infield that arise. If he’s not good at the plate, he probably still fields well. Which as we’ve seen can go a long way to getting the team over a hurdle. They can carry a .650 OPS guy who is a vacuum on the grass.
