The Red Sox are among the teams interested in Ha-Seong Kim
The search for a second baseman has taken the Boston Red Sox across the globe to Korea where Ha-Seong Kim has landed on their radar.
Boston is one of six teams pursuing the KBO star shortstop, according to Bae Ji-Heon of South Korea’s Naver News. The New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals are also listed among his suitors.
Kim is reportedly looking for a four-year deal worth over $7 million pear season. MLB teams have until Jan. 1 to work out a deal with Kim after he was posted by his former team Kiwoom earlier this month but a decision may already have been reached.
A major Korean newspaper reported that Kim already picked the team he wants to sign with and agreed to their offer. The deal hasn’t been finalized yet since the sides are haggling over the ability of the team to send him to the minors.
It’s unclear if the Red Sox are that mystery team but chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has shown he’s willing to think outside the box to fill the void at second base. The versatile Kiké Hernandez has been tied to Boston and they are among the teams reportedly trying to convince Marcus Semien to switch infield positions.
Xander Bogaerts is already locked in at shortstop but that hasn’t eliminated other players at the position from Boston’s list of targets if they feel they are capable of moving over to second base. Kim, a Gold Glove Award-winner in the KBO, is a better fielder than Bogaerts but it’s unlikely that the Red Sox would ask their emerging clubhouse leader to give up his position.
In addition to being a slick fielder who can cover multiple positions, Kim can also swing the bat. The 25-year-old hit .306 with a .920 OPS, 30 home runs, and 109 RBI while stealing 23 bases for the Kiwoom Heroes last season.
The competition in the KBO isn’t quite the same as facing MLB pitching but if a prospect were putting up those type of numbers in Triple-A then scouts would be raving about the player’s potential. Kim is a major league-ready player who will be viewed as one of the top 100 prospects in baseball when he signs with the expectation of competing for a spot on that team’s Opening Day roster.
The scouting report from FanGraphs views Kim as an offensive threat with emerging power.
"“Kim is an explosive, compact-bodied athlete with natural doubles power who frequently turns on pitches on the inner half and absolutely obliterates balls to his pull side. He took bigger hacks during the 2020 KBO season and hit more homers without impacting his contact rates, as he had more walks than Ks.”"
Kim holds similar value to Jeter Downs, the top prospect in the Red Sox system who was acquired from the Dodgers in the Mookie Betts trade. Downs might be a couple of years away from his big league debut while Kim has already proven himself at a higher level than Boston’s top prospect has ever been tested at.
A prized prospect being groomed for the same position shouldn’t prohibit the Red Sox from pursuing Kim regardless of the potential logjam it creates. Downs, Kim or perhaps even Bogaerts could be flipped for a pitching upgrade if it came to that. Kim would provide a solution at a position of need now while adding flexibility for roster construction down the line.
He doesn’t have the name value of the other star players on the free-agent market but Kim’s youth, price tag and enticing upside make him an appealing target for the Red Sox.