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DJ LeMahieu at bat against the Dodgers.
Heading into the trade deadline, the New York Yankees have the flexibility to get creative in the infield. While they seem to have three guaranteed players to play with, Anthony Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Paul Goldschmidt, the Yankees could add a second or third baseman because of Chisholm.
When searching for potential options, Empire Sports named an interesting one in the form of Ha-Seong Kim of the Tampa Bay Rays. Kim most recently played for the San Diego Padres, but has missed all of 2024 after undergoing shoulder surgery at the end of last season.
“In a limited market that doesn’t have a lot of reliable infielders, Ha-Seong Kim’s well-rounded game and high-floor profile make him an effective starter on a championship contender. The Tampa Bay Rays signed him this offseason to a 1+1 deal valued up to $29.5 million if he chooses to pick up his player option for the 2026 season…
“He could put up an 85 OPS+ and still contribute more than the in-house options based on the glove and speed alone, and that’s worth the price of acquisition. Ha-Seong Kim is a player who doesn’t have huge nights, but his consistent ability to make a positive impact on the game one way or another makes him a perfect addition to an offense with tons of power depth,” Ryan Garcia wrote .
Kim’s Durability Concerns
Trading for an injured player would be a bit questionable from the New York Yankees’ perspective, especially one with a shoulder injury.
Shoulder injuries are typically tricky, but Kim is a second baseman and shouldn’t be too impacted by it. Hopefully, he’ll return to form, and there’s reason to believe he will.
According to RotoWire, he’s set to play shortstop for Triple-A Durham, showing his arm looks healthy.
“Kim (shoulder) is scheduled to play shortstop this week for the first time on rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
“Kim played second base in his last two games with Durham after being used at designated hitter in his first four contests. After picking up two hits in his first rehab game, the 29-year-old is hitless over his last five tilts. Recovering from right shoulder surgery, Kim is expected to be the Rays’ primary shortstop once activated. However, since he’s just now getting reintroduced to the position, has yet to play the field in back-to-back days and is off to a sluggish start at the plate, his return from the 60-day injured list wouldn’t appear to be imminent,” they wrote .
Productive When Healthy
When Kim was on the field for the San Diego Padres last year and throughout the first four years of his big league career, he was a very serviceable player, someone the New York Yankees would love to add.
He owns a career OPS+ of 99, which isn’t great, but he still posted a 5.4 WAR during the 2023 season, showing that he can make things happen on the base paths, leave the yard, and live gap to gap.
Kim finished that season with 23 doubles, 17 home runs, 38 stolen bases, and a 107 OPS+. He also won the Gold Glove Award at second base.
If that’s the player the Yankees would get, they should be very happy with how things could potentially go.
Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan
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