MLB Rumors: 3 teams that should take advantage of Padres in Ha-Seong Kim trade
Fewer fan bases should be more frustrated than San Diego Padres fans. The Padres entered last season as one of the favorites in the National League, boasting one of the highest payrolls in the game with a star-studded roster, but they disappointed from the jump and missed out on the playoffs entirely after making the NLCS a season prior.
With the Padres needing to trim payroll, Juan Soto was good as gone, but he's far from the only player to depart this offseason. Trent Grisham went in the Soto deal as well. Nick Martinez, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Tim Hill, and Luis Garcia have all signed elsewhere. Blake Snell and Josh Hader appear to be headed elsewhere as well. To add to the misery, Ha-Seong Kim could be next up.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today said, "The San Diego Padres continue to shop valuable infielder Ha-Seong Kim, who earns $8 million in the final year of his contract, in their attempt to land pitching."
It feels unlikely that the Padres re-sign Kim after the season the way things have gone, so getting something for him before he becomes the next Padres player who walks makes some sense.
While Kim proved himself to be an extremely valuable player in 2023 and is making an extremely affordable $8 million, the price tag in a trade won't be incredibly high. These three teams can take advantage of the cost-cutting Padres by stealing Kim away.
3. The Cubs could use another infielder like Ha-Seong Kim
It's been a rather quiet offseason for the Chicago Cubs who despite their recent activity the last week, have not gotten much better if at all this offseason. They did add Shota Imanaga to their rotation and traded for Michael Busch who should get everyday reps for Chicago, but lost Marcus Stroman and have yet to bring Cody Bellinger back.
Kim is not quite Bellinger, but he'd arguably fill a bigger hole. The Cubs could turn to top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong in center field if Bellinger left, but as of now their third baseman on Opening Day would presumably be one of Patrick Wisdom or Nick Madrigal. That is, to be blunt, not good enough for a team trying to win the NL Central.
The Cubs have young pitchers with team control they could move to land Kim like Jordan Wicks, Javier Assad, and Hayden Wesneski who are MLB-ready but won't all be in Chicago's rotation. The Cubs won't want to give controllable pitching up for a rental, but Kim would absolutely be a worthwhile addition, especially after the year he had.
Adding the 28-year-old to an infield that already has Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner up the middle would give the Cubs arguably the best infield defense in the majors. That, in addition to Kim's improved bat would make the Cubs a much better team than they'd be without him.