I’m good at defense but I can’t live up to my expectations for Kim Ha Sung’s trade candidate
“I haven’t lived up to your expectations yet”
The San Diego Padres are ranked second in the National League West with a winning rate of 0.592 with 45 wins and 31 losses before the game is held on the 30th (Korea Standard Time). Although the LA Dodgers are ranked second in the district due to their overwhelming winning rate of 0.616, they are ranked fifth based on 30 Major League Baseball clubs.
Compared to the players’ performance, San Diego’s performance is more of a “dream.” With “main shortstop” Fernando Tatis Jr. unable to return due to injury and struggling with attacks below the league average in center, right field, and first baseman positions, the winning rate for the fifth place in the Major League is close to a “miracle.”
San Diego is also spending one of the best salaries in the major leagues, but he has not lived up to expectations except for a few players. Representative players include Will Myers (batting 0.234) and Eric Hosmer (batting 0.280). If the size of the team rises even a little, it is in danger of having to pay the luxury tax.
Major League Trade Rumors (MLBTR) talked about San Diego’s current situation and luxury tax ahead of the Major League trade deadline on the 30th. It also included a story about Kim Ha-sung. He is showing his best performance in defense, but he is still not up to expectations in terms of aggression.
Kim Ha-sung, who signed a 4+1 contract with San Diego for 39 million dollars (about 50.6 billion won) after the 2020 season, played 117 games last year and had a sluggish first season with a batting average of 0.202 OPS of 0.622. It was not easy to adapt against Major League pitchers with a much higher average speed than the KBO League.
Like last year, Kim Ha-sung is contributing greatly to the team in defense this year. In particular, he is showing a much more stable defense than Tatis Jr. in shortstop, and he is filling the gap of Manny Machado, who recently left due to injury. But what’s unfortunate is the hitting side.
Kim Ha-sung is showing better performance than last year with a batting average of 0.226 OPS 0.656 in 68 games this year. Although his batting sense has recently risen, considering the salary he receives, he still lacks in terms of aggression. Defense alone cannot secure a starting position on the Major League stage.
“MLBTR” predicted Kim Ha-sung as a trade target following Myers and Hosmer in the field and Blake Snell in the pitching staff. The media said, “We may not like the breakup of Kim Ha-sung, who is recording .266/.311/.345 (wRC+91) with outstanding defense in three positions against San Diego. However, Kim Ha-sung, a KBO league superstar, has yet to live up to expectations since signing a four-year, $28 million contract with San Diego 토토추천
It is predicted that Tatis Jr. will not be able to keep his position when he returns to the ground with his current offense. MLBTR added, “If Tatis Jr. returns, we will see Kim Ha-sung’s playing time will be significantly shortened.”
“San Diego has to make a difficult choice as the trade deadline approaches,” MLBTR said. We need to persuade our trade partner to pay for the player, he said. “We need to succeed in destroying the burdensome contract or sell it in an expensive but valuable way.”
In the end, the media argues that in order to overcome the burdensome luxury tax and protect the current roaster, or not to pay luxury tax, we must reduce our size through trade. Although he was not the main target of the trade, Kim Ha-sung is also not a stable position. “The return of Tatis and some improvements and upgrades to Snell, Myers and Hosmer’s positions,” MLBTR said