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Braves' Ha-Seong Kim Stuck in Deep Slump, Role Shrinks

A preseason finger tendon surgery and falling plate and defensive metrics have turned the one-year, $20 million signing into a part-time option the team is actively re-evaluating.

Overview

  • Kim missed spring training after tearing a tendon in his right middle finger, having surgery and rehabbing before being activated in mid-May.
  • He has managed just five hits in 56 at-bats this season, a .089 average with zero extra-base hits and three RBIs.
  • Statcast and batted-ball data show a sharp drop in quality contact with a career-high ground-ball rate, a much lower pull-air rate, reduced exit velocity, and increased chasing of pitches.
  • Defensively Kim has also regressed in a small sample with negative Outs Above Average and multiple errors, removing the usual defensive cushion for his offensive slump.
  • Manager Walt Weiss has moved Kim to a timeshare role while Mauricio Dubón and Jorge Mateo receive starts and the club weighs whether Kim can rebound quickly or if roster and trade plans must change.