Kim Ha-sung (San Diego Padres), who will become a free agent at the end of this season, ranked eighth in the Major League Baseball’s preliminary FA player rankings. Attention is once again focusing on how large Kim Ha-sung will sign an FA contract after the end of the season.
The MLB Trade Rumors, which reported on the transfer to the MLB, ranked the 10th in the 2024-2025 MLB FA Power Rankings based on their performance through June. Kim Ha-sung ranked eighth among them. He is the second among shortstop players.
First of all, the media said, “Kim Ha-sung is one of the best defenders,” adding, “The indicators are good throughout defense.” San Diego then sent Xander Bogaerts to second base this year and put Kim Ha-sung to shortstop, he added.
Kim Ha-sung played in 83 games this season, leaving 10 homers, 46 RBIs and 15 steals. He has a batting average of 2203, and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.718. Although his batting average is lower than that of last year (260), he hit double-digit homers in the first half alone and garnered 46 walks by displaying his unique pioneering skills.
Media outlets also pointed out this point. “Kim Ha-sung’s offensive performance is not very interesting. He does not have a high batting average,” MLBTR said. “He is a good hitter who leads the game based on his contact ability with good pitching ability.” “His strong batting production ratio this season is 35.5 percent, which is a career-high.” 토토사이트 추천
Even before the opening of the 2024 season, great attention was paid to the size of Kim Ha-sung’s contract, which will be released as an FA after the end of the season. This is because it is considered one of the largest shortstop in the FA next year.
The media did not expect the total amount of contracts. “Kim Ha-sung is above the league average if he adds his batting eye, defense and baserunning abilities,” he said. “He can also sign a five-year contract.”
One can make predictions by comparing them to a certain extent. Willy Adames of the Milwaukee Brewers is the only shortstop who ranks higher than Kim Ha-sung. Adames has posted a batting average of 238 with 13 homers, 54 RBIs and an OPS of 0.755 this season.
Regarding Adames, the media predicted, “We will sign similar contracts with Trevor Story, Javier Baez and Dansby Swanson.” These players signed a contract with their current team for a six- to seven-year contract period of $140 million to $177 million in total.
It costs between $23.3 million and $25.28 million annually. If Kim Ha-sung succeeds in signing a five-year contract with a new team with this amount, he could make a big hit of $100 million in total.