‘무려 7,1979억 초박…’ 결국 김하성 재계약 못한 이유나, 韓 역대 최다 금액 현실화 ‘美 현지 전망’
Kim Ha-seong (29-San Diego Padres)’s price tag is skyrocketing. As he continues to fail to re-sign with his current team, the San Diego Padres, it is becoming increasingly likely that he will eventually leave the team.
Dennis Lynn of The Athletic published an article on Wednesday (Nov. 11) in which he answered questions from readers.
In it, it was suggested that Kim, who will be a free agent after the 2024 season, is unlikely to stay with the San Diego Padres.
Moreover, trade rumors have been surrounding Kim since last season.
When asked about this, the outlet said, “Kim is less offensively gifted than Dansby Swanson (Chicago Cubs) and Trevor Story (Boston Red Sox), but he has shown promise as a Golden Glove candidate at shortstop and second base.”
“Furthermore, Willie Adames (Milwaukee Brewers) appears to be his only competition at shortstop in the upcoming free agency.”
The outlet believes that Kim, who won the National League Gold Glove for utility last year, will be paid between $130 million and $150 million ($17.15 billion to $19.79 billion) over seven years.
If this analysis comes to fruition, it would be an extraordinary deal. If finalized, it would be the largest contract in Korean baseball history.
Previously, the largest contract in the Korean Major League was a seven-year, $130 million deal signed by Choo Shin-soo (now with the SSG Rangers) in 2013 with the Texas Rangers.
This was followed by Lee Jung-hoo’s six-year, $113 million deal with the San Francisco Giants last December through the posting system (closed competitive bidding).
Choo Shin-soo and Lee Jung-hoo’s positions are different outfielders from infielder Kim Ha-sung, so if these contracts materialize, Kim will become the “largest contract ever for an Asian infielder” worth more than $100 million.
If you look at the size of Dansby Swanson’s and Trevor Story’s contracts, which the article mentions, it’s likely that Kim will also get a big contract.
Gold Glove winner Dansby Swanson signed a seven-year, $177 million ($23.34 billion) deal for the 2023 season, and former Silver Slugger Trevor Story signed a six-year, $140 million ($18.46 billion) deal for the 2022 season, both at similar ages to Kim.
While Swanson is considered a solid defender, he hasn’t shown any real strength at the plate.
While he did hit 27 home runs in 2021 and 25 in 2022, he had a mediocre .255 batting average and .738 OPS in his six seasons with the Atlanta Braves.
However, in 2022, when he hit free agency, he excelled defensively and won the Gold Glove at shortstop, beating out Ha-Sung Kim.
His defensive prowess helped him land a long-term deal with the Cubs. He’s not far behind Swanson, either.
Kim signed a 4+1 year contract with the San Diego Padres when he entered the major leagues in 2021.
The Padres and Kim could mutually agree to an additional year, but that seems unlikely at this point.
For now, there are plenty of other teams that could offer him a better deal when he hits free agency after the 2024 season.
Furthermore, San Diego hasn’t had much to show for its offseason investment, failing to make it to fall ball.
More recently, the team’s finances have been hit hard by the bankruptcy of its local television station.
The Athletic reports, “Kim is about nine months away from becoming a free agent.
However, it is unlikely that San Diego will come up with the funds to sign Kim to an extension.
Also, if the team’s top prospect, Jackson Merrill, is ready to play, he could replace Kim for less money.”
For the Dodgers, it would be more beneficial to trade Kim for as much as possible rather than letting him walk.
It’s also possible that the team could trade him before he hits free agency, as they did with Juan Soto (New York Yankees).
As the outlet notes, “Like Soto’s previous trade, Kim is likely to use a similar strategy.
However, it seems unlikely that a trade will be made before the Major League Baseball opening game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.”
In an official press conference last year, Kim addressed the trade speculation surrounding him, saying, “2024 is the season before free agency, so I will do my best without getting injured,” and added, “At first, I was very stressed, but now I don’t care at all.
I think being traded means that another team needs me, and I don’t care which team, as long as I’m guaranteed playing time.
But I like San Diego,” he said, seemingly unconcerned.
The media also mentioned Lee Jung-hoo, saying, “Kim’s best friend, Lee Jung-hoo, signed a six-year, $113 million contract with San Francisco.
Although Lee is three years younger than Kim, Lee’s value in the major leagues is currently lower than Kim.
If Kim struggles in 2024, his value could drop.
However, when it comes to contributing to the team, such as defense, Kim is better.”
San Diego has invested heavily in recent years in hopes of winning the World Series, but it hasn’t worked out.
Under A.J. Preller, the team has only made the postseason twice (2020 and 2022), let alone won a division title.
Last year, U.S. outlet MLB TradeRumors cited untradeable resources when discussing the possibility of San Diego drastically reducing its $253 million (34.28 billion won) total payroll for the 2023 season to less than $200 million (27.1 billion won). “
None of the core group – Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr, Zander Bogaerts, Darvish Yu, Ha-Sung Kim, and Joe Musgrove – is a trade risk,” the outlet said, acknowledging the team’s core.
However, all but Kim are under long-term contracts.
Machado has an 11-year, $350 million contract, Tatis Jr.
has a 14-year, $340 million contract, Darvish has a six-year, $108 million contract, and Musgrove has a five-year, $100 million contract.
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts was also signed for 11 years and $280 million (approximately KRW 37.94 billion).
However, Kim was not the only one, with the East Village Times claiming in August last year that “Kim’s salary this year is $7 million, which is too low,” and that he should sign a seven-year, $150 million extension. 카지노사이트
The Athletic recently analyzed San Diego’s roster for the 2024 season, highlighting six infielders.
Zander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Matthew Batten, and Manny Machado, and of course, Kim Ha-Sung.
Unlike Kim, Jake Cronenworth has a seven-year, $80 million extension that kicks in after the 2024 season.
If San Diego wants to keep Kim, they can be proactive and sign him to a multi-year deal.
However, this is a different story with Kim’s massive asking price.
That’s why we still haven’t heard anything about a multi-year deal with San Diego.
The San Francisco Giants, the team that Lee Jung-hoo plays for, are the most likely candidates.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported in November last year that “San Francisco is looking to bolster its left infield (third base, shortstop) and could acquire Kim via trade.”
The Giants currently have veterans on their roster.
The Giants currently have a veteran shortstop in Brandon Crawford, 36, who is on the downside.
In 2023, he hit just .194 with seven home runs, 38 RBIs, and a .587 OPS in 93 games.
Marco Luciano (2001), who made his major league debut in the second half of the 2023 season and played 14 games, also needs time to find his footing.
Now, the San Francisco Giants have a manager at the helm who knows Kim better than anyone.
Bob Melvin, who was with the team until the 2023 season.
Bob Melvin is known as “The Master” for his 1517 career wins.
The fact that he has strong ties to Asia is also a plus for both Kim Ha-seong and Lee Jung-hoo.
Melvin began his managerial career with the Seattle Mariners in 2003 and went on to manage the Arizona Diamondbacks (2005-2009), Oakland Athletics (2011-2021), and most recently, San Diego (2022-2023) for two years.
In Seattle, he worked with Ichiro Suzuki, a living legend of Japanese baseball, and in San Diego with Ha-Sung Kim and Darvish Yu.
In San Diego, he instilled faith in Kim by consistently playing him in the starting lineup, and Kim rewarded him by becoming the first Asian infielder to win a Gold Glove.
If Kim were to make the move to San Francisco, he’d be in good hands with manager Bob Melvin and have a chance to grow even more.
“Lee and Kim are good friends and teammates,” said Andrew Badgley, The Athletic’s San Francisco reporter, “and Melvin has spoken highly of Kim since his days in San Diego.
It’s hard to say where the Giants’ biggest need will be a year from now.
I’m sure he’ll have supporters in San Francisco who will give him a boost.”
Meanwhile, Ha-Sung Kim showed even more growth in 2023 as he established himself as San Diego’s undisputed starter.
He started 152 of 162 major league games, batting .260 (140-for-538) with 17 home runs, 60 RBIs, 84 runs scored, 23 doubles, 75 walks, 124 strikeouts, 38 stolen bases (nine stolen bases), a .351 on-base percentage, a .398 slugging percentage, and a career-high OPS of .749.
As good as he was offensively, he was even better defensively.
It’s no exaggeration to say that he led the San Diego infield with one of the best defensive performances in the majors every game.
