There is a joke that ‘the price has risen in one day’. Ha-seong Kim (27, San Diego) transformed from a ‘nice to have player’ to a ‘must-have player’ overnight.
Jordan Moore of the American media The Athletic lamented on his SNS on the 11th (Korean time), “Boston really, desperately needs Kim Ha-seong.”
Moore’s reaction was the news of Boston’s starting second baseman Trevor Story’s surgery. Boston reported on the morning of the 10th that second baseman Story had undergone right elbow surgery. According to Chaim Bloom, Boston’s president, the pain was the cause since December of last year. He is expected to have a rehabilitation period of at least 4 to 6 months, so it is certain that he will be out in the first half.
Boston, where all keystone combinations disappeared as Story was injured, really needed a middle infield transfusion. On the same day, even large shortstop Carlos Correa, who remained in the free agency market, signed a six-year, $200 million (249.6 billion won) contract with Minnesota. Now he has to fill in for center fielder Kike Hernandez at shortstop and backup infielder Christian Arroyo at second base. Hernandez has the strength to play all positions in the infield and outfield, but his career batting average of 0.239 and OPS of 0.732 are disappointing. Arroyo is a player who has barely established himself as a backup, appearing in 87 games only last year, the sixth year of his debut. It is regretful for both of them to leave the starting lineup. 온라인카지노
Even if it wasn’t necessarily Story’s injury, Boston’s lukewarm move is regrettable in that it needed reinforcement of the shortstop. Another outlet, the Eagle-Tribune, pointed out that “even before Story announced right elbow surgery, Boston needed a middle infielder,” and added, “(Story’s absence) now is the time for Boston to move. The only option is reinforcement through trade,” he explained.
Ha-seong Kim was a player that Boston-related major media, such as ‘NBC Sports Boston’ and ‘Mass Live’, consistently insisted on recruiting. The Eagle-Tribune also said, “Ha-seong Kim is one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball since coming from Korea in 2021. Last year, he showed a decent batting average with a batting average of 0.251, 11 homers, 12 stolen bases, and an OPS of 0.708, and his cheap contract terms still have four years remaining. Thinking of him, he was a perfect fit for Boston.”
Prior to this day, it was Tanner Ha-wook (27), a ‘first-round right-hander’ whose strength was a fast ball with an average speed of 95.2 miles (about 153 km) that came out as a trade card through the local media. Sean Adam of the Boston Sports Journal suggested a one-on-one trade between Ha-wook and Ha-sung Kim.
However, as Boston became more urgent, it became difficult to bring Kim Ha-seong to the extent of Ha-wook. Recently, San Diego general manager AJ Preller expressed his relaxed stance on the trade of Ha-sung Kim, saying, “I want a flexible team management.”