Kim Ha-sung, who is in his fourth year in the Major League Baseball this year, has a batting average of 0.242 (377 hits in 1,561 times at bat), 45 homers, 187 RBIs, 205 runs and 70 steals, and has an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 0.711. Last season, he won the Gold Glove Utility category by playing several infield positions, and had the honor of being the first Korean to win the Gold Glove Award in the Major League.
In 71 games this season, Kim has a batting average of 0.222 (53 hits in 239 times at bat), nine homers, 34 RBIs, 36 runs scored, and 14 steals, with an OPS of 0.729. Although Kim suffered a slump in batting early in the season, he gradually improved his pace in June and has one more double-digit home run to spare for the third consecutive year. As Kim’s performance has improved, the possibility of a trade has also been raised locally.
The Athletic, a U.S. sports media outlet, reported this summer that the Cleveland Guardians are targeting Kim Ha-sung for the shortstop position. 토토사이트 추천
Cleveland is leading the American League’s central district (43-23), but the shortstop position is a weakness, The Athletic said. “Brian Rocchio and Gabriel Arias have not been able to show their performance in the event of an attack.” “There are Triple-A players, but we have not been able to confirm who will be paired with second baseman Andres Jimenez in the infield in the future,” he added. “The short-term solution is Kim Ha-sung and Beau Bissett (Toronto Blue Jays).”
“The possibility of (trading) seems slim, but if San Diego is pushed out of the postseason competition, Kim Ha-sung could be an interesting alternative,” The Athletic said, analyzing that Cleveland will try to trade in the summer when the rankings are decided to some extent.
San Diego (37-35), which is currently ranked second in the National League West and second in the wild card, has a slim chance of trading as it seeks to advance to the fall baseball league.
Kim Ha-sung, who signed a four-plus-one-year contract with San Diego for up to $39 million (about 53.7 billion won) in the 2020 season, has an option to extend it by one year after the end of this season, but he is likely to give up and enter the FA market.
The Athletic predicted that if Kim Ha-sung comes to the FA market, he will receive an annual average of $20 million (about 27.5 billion won) and a total of more than $100 million (about 137.8 billion won).
The U.S. sports media Bleacher Report ranked Kim Ha-sung ninth in the FA rankings on the 14th (Korea Standard Time), expecting the size of the contract in the winter FA market. The media analyzed, “Kim Ha-sung has accumulated RWAR (contribution to victory against substitute players based on the Baseball Conference), which is as high as Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) over the past three seasons,” adding, “This is an issue that raises Kim Ha-sung’s stock price.”