The Atlanta Braves have been relatively quiet this offseason, but they finally made a move late on Thursday, signing super utility man Jurickson Profar to a three-year, $42 million contract.
Profar slashed .280/.380/.459 with 24 home runs and 85 RBI last year, but Atlanta could potentially add more, and they would be wise to look for some supplemental pieces.
Chris Landers of FanSided proposed the idea of Atlanta signing another utility man and former San Diego Padres teammate of Profar, Ha-Seong Kim to play shortstop instead of Orlando Arcia.
“At this point, Kim’s market might be cool enough to make it work. We’ve always known that he wouldn’t be ready for Opening Day after undergoing shoulder surgery last year, and there have been scant few rumors about him over the past few weeks. But as long as his medicals check out, there’s a lot to like, from his defensive versatility to his base-running and OBP skills. Even if he’s roughly league-average with the bat, that’s still much better than Arcia did last year, and he brings a very well-rounded skill set to the table. It’s hard to imagine him commanding more than Profar did on the open market at this point, which means he could be in the Braves’ price range at around $10-12 million a year,” Landers wrote.
Kim slashed .233/.330/.370 with 11 home runs, 47 RBI and a .700 OPS. However, his production may have been hampered by his shoulder injury.
If he can come back and stay healthy, he could be a solid upgrade at shortstop over Arcia. He’s a former Gold Glove winner and can play three of the four infield positions.
When he’s right, he can provide power from the right side of the plate as well, and he could give the Braves an offensive boost if he can return to full health in 2025.
We’ll see if the Braves make him an offer.
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