Padres departing free agents: Ha-Seong Kim A look at how the Padres’ departing free agents impacted the 2024 season.
HA-SEONG KIM
Position(s): Shortstop
Age: 29
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
Height / Weight: 5-foot-9 / 168 pounds
How acquired: Signed as a free agent in December 2020
2024 salary: Earned $8 million in the last year of a four-year, $28 million deal
Key 2024 stats: .233 avg., .330 OBP, .370 SLG, 11 HRs, 47 RBIs, 60 runs, 22 steals, 58 walks, 77 strikeouts (121 games, 470 plate appearances)
STAT TO NOTE
12.3 — Kim’s walk rate in 2024, ranking in the top 4 percent in the majors. Kim’s walk rate has climbed each year since arriving from South Korea, moving from 7.4 percent in 2021 to 8.8 to 12.0 to this year’s rate.
Padres Daily Get Kevin Acee’s original analysis on the latest Padres news, trends, and commentary.
Email address
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive emails from The San Diego Union-Tribune.
TRENDING
Down — A Gold Glove winner as a utility player in 2023, Kim finished in the top-14 in NL MVP voting last year as he paired superb defensive contributions with a career year at the plate (17 HRs, 38 steals, .749 OPS). He moved from second base to shortstop this year to provide even more range than Xander Bogaerts and suffered through a rash of early miscues, leading to a career-high 11 errors. His batting line also fell from .260/.351/.398 for a .749 OPS last year to .233/.330/.370 for a .700 OPS this year. Kim, however, was bouncing back from a dreadful July as his OPS rose from .585 that month to .741 through the first 13 games in August when he tore his right labrum while
diving back into first base in Colorado. The injury proved season-ending as Kim, after weeks of attempting to rehab his shoulder, announced he was headed for surgery the last weekend of the regular season. He underwent that procedure on the last day of the NLDS, clouding his short-term future as he began to weigh his half of an $8 million mutual option for 2025. Had he built on his 2023 season, Kim would have entered free agency as arguably the top shortstop on the market. But his rehab timeline will eat into next season, which figures to limit what he can expect in free agency. That, however, did not deter Kim, who hired super agent Scott Boras late in the season and opted out after the World Series, triggering a $2 million buyout from the Padres.
