The trade story of Kim Ha-sung (29, San Diego Padres), who has been quiet for a while, is coming out again in the summer. If his team shows a downward trend, he may leave the team. The Athletic, a sports media outlet, mentioned on the 13th (Korea Standard Time) that “the Cleveland Guardians should pay attention to ahead of the trade deadline,” referring to the position needed for the team.
As of Tuesday, Cleveland is ranking first in the American League Central with 43 wins and 23 losses (0.652) this season. It had been fiercely competing with the Kansas City Royals for the top spot in the district, but has widened its gap since late May, leading the league by 5.5 games as of Tuesday. 토토사이트 추천
In the batting lineup, veteran Jose Ramirez still has 18 home runs and an OPS of 0.877, and leadoff Stephen Kwan showed good performance with a high batting average of 0.380 despite his absence due to injury. Utility man David Fry is showing his best performance with a batting average of 0.321, eight home runs and an OPS of 1.017. First baseman Josh Naylor has shown off his remarkable batting productivity with 17 home runs despite his low batting average of 0.226.
Shortstop is one of his weaknesses, however. Neither Brian Rokio nor Gabriel Arias have stood out as shortstop this season. In his second year in the big league, Rokio has a batting average of 0.213 with one home run, 11 RBIs and seven steals, and Arias has a batting average of 0.214 with two homers and 11 RBIs with an OPS of 0.581. His wRC+ (adjusted scoring capacity) at shortstop was 87, ranking 25th among the 30 teams in the big league.
The media said, “We still don’t know who will be the partner of (second baseman) Andres Jimenez over the next few years.” “If we stop thinking about finding candidates inside, we can aim for a short-term rise in positions such as black holes (striker) in the lineup,” he said.
“Boe Bissett of the Toronto Blue Jays is a big name,” he said. “We don’t know if Toronto will sell him next month (trade deadline).” The media said, “If the San Diego Padres fall out of the playoff competition, Kim Ha-sung could be an interesting option.”
As of Thursday, Kim played in 71 games this season, recording 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. His batting average fell from last year’s 0.260 but his cumulative performance such as homers and steals, and his ratio of walks, have increased. At the current pace, he is capable of 20 homers and 30 steals.
This is the perfect circumstance for Kim to be traded. He signed a four-year, 28 million-dollar contract (up to 32 million dollars including options) with the San Diego Padres ahead of the 2021 season, and this year is his last season as a team. Several teams are expected to take Kim Ha-sung, who will soon become a free agent, through the so-called “half-year rental.”
There have already been several predictions that Kim Ha-sung will be traded after the end of the last season. “We have talked a lot about our players (this winter),” San Diego President A.J. Preller said in an interview with MLB.com on the 2nd. “We have taken a consistent attitude throughout the winter regarding Kim Ha-sung. He is not blocking calls. It is the same regardless of which player someone calls. However, we are not actively pushing for the trade.”
Kim displayed outstanding performance last year. As the starting second baseman for the San Diego Padres last year, Kim recorded a batting average of 0.260 with 17 homers, 60 RBIs, 84 runs and 38 steals, and an OPS of 0.749. He broke the record of most stolen bases in a single season of a Korean major leaguer. In addition, he played as a second baseman, shortstop, and third baseman in defense, showing above average defense, and won the Gold Glove in the utility category of the National League.
With the San Diego Padres’ contract to extend the contract virtually becoming more difficult, several teams are seeking to take the opportunity to bring in an inexpensive gold glove infielder. They are expected to put an offer in San Diego, which has the trade deadline at the end of July. Cleveland is also on the list. Notably, as Choo Shin-soo (SSG) played from 2006 to 2012, Cleveland was well known to Korean fans.