Nothing is more important than health issues Kim Ha-sung and Boras' fatal misjudgment and interest itself are disappearing

Jan 10, 2025

Sportschosun DB

No matter how good the cumulative record and past performance are, it is useless if there is a question mark on your health.

Kim Ha-sung is struggling in the Major League Stove League this winter. He came out after declaring his FA curiously, but the contract has not yet been made even at the time of mid-January. There are no specific teams showing interest. The outlook of the local media changes from time to time, and it continues to flow in a direction unfavorable to Kim Ha-sung.

At this point, Kim Ha-sung is not mentioned as a leading FA. It was once valued as a $100 million player, but not now. The latest prospect is staying in San Diego. CW6 San Diego sportscaster and talk show host Lee Hacksaw Hamilton said on the 9th (Korea time) that San Diego is interested in re-recruiting utility player Kim Ha-sung. He seems to be offering $6 million a year."

Of course, there are other prospects. On the same day, U.S. Just Baseball said it expects Kim Ha-sung to sign a five-year, $60 million (about 87.7 billion won) contract with Atlanta, ranking sixth among the top 20 uncontracted FA. It's the most positive outlook at this point, but it's the least feasible.

A Major League Baseball exhibition game between the San Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers at Peoria Sports Complex in Arizona on the 25th (Korea time), and San Diego's Kim Ha-sung walks in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Peoria (Arizona, USA) = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2024.02.25/

In addition, some predicted that the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers would be able to recruit Kim Ha-sung. There was also an article that the Seattle Mariners may offer Kim Ha-sung $14 million a year. However, they are all just the prospects of the local media. In particular, the Yankees seem to have given up their interest in Kim Ha-sung.

MLB.COM, the official website of the Major League, synthesized the Yankees' moves to reinforce infielders on the 10th, but Kim Ha-sung's name was not even mentioned at all. It contains only the extent that Luis Arraez, Alex Bregman, and Nolan Arenado are on the Yankees' list of interests.

This means that the Yankees no longer consider Kim Ha-sung as a target for recruitment. In the case of Atlanta and Milwaukee, it is reasonable to see it as the prospect or wind of local media rather than the interest at the club level.

In the end, the most likely scenario at this point is to sign a one-year contract with the original team San Diego as an FA-free contract. If San Diego offers a specific amount of $6 million when no one is looking for it, Kim Ha-sung has virtually no choice.

As a result of this, the FA Declaration will be a great failure. Even if he did not appear in the FA market, Kim Ha-sung could be guaranteed $8 million (about 11.7 billion won) if he used the remaining one-year option with San Diego. However, when he declared the FA, this guarantee option was not available, resulting in a $2 million loss.

The response of the MLB Stove League market is actually not new. This is because from the MLB team's point of view, Kim Ha-sung is like a product that has a major defect.

Kim Ha-sung seriously injured his right shoulder during a sliding process against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in August last year. It was the most important rupture of the right shoulder for right-handed pitcher Kim Ha-sung. He tried to return to rehabilitation within the season, but failed. Eventually, he got on the operating table at the end of the season.

It was a difficult operation that took six to eight months of normal rehabilitation alone. In addition, it is unclear how much he will recover his old skills in terms of hitting and throwing after completing his rehabilitation. In the end, Kim Ha-sung became a player with uncertainty in terms of health.

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Moreover, there were even remarks that further increased this uncertainty. Regarding Kim Ha-sung's injury in October last year, San Diego general manager A.J. Preller said, `The timing of Kim Ha-sung's return is the first homework we have to solve right after the World Series. The club and players will decide whether to choose mutual options accordingly. Kim Ha-sung may not be ready to play until July" made a shocking remark.

Of course, Kim Ha-sung and his agent, Scott Boras, argue that the return is possible in April. However, no club is taking this claim straight away. If this was acknowledged, there is no reason to hesitate to sign Kim Ha-sung, the winner of the 2023 National League Gold Glove (Utilita Division).

In other words, there is only one reason why Kim Ha-sung does not receive so much attention in the stove league. This is because it is difficult to calculate the degree of aftereffects of shoulder surgery, and it is unknown how quickly it will recover its old skills.

Kim Ha-sung talks at the San Diego Padres' spring camp site in Peoria, Arizona on the 17th (Korea Standard Time). Peoria (Arizona, USA) = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2024.02.17/

No team can offer a long-term contract worth tens of millions of dollars just with the expectation that they will do well in the past. That's not how Major League Baseball's business is done. The health of the players is judged thoroughly conservatively and carefully. Rather than playing in the opening game right away, it is Kim Ha-sung who is uncertain whether he will play in the first half of the year.

From that point of view, Kim Ha-sung is like a 'not a scratch' lottery. It even looks more likely to be 'Bang' than winning. There is also a lack of data to support the claim that it can return in April and show its old skills. This is the most important reason why Major League clubs are collecting interest in Kim Ha-sung one after another

As a result, the 'FA Challenge' chosen by Kim Ha-sung and the agent seems to be a complacent judgment. This is the result of overlooking the fact that the first principle of a stove league contract is 'health'.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.