Major League Trade Loomers (MLBTR) of the U.S. selected the power rankings of players who will be evaluated by the market through FA (free agent) status after the end of this season. Kim Ha-sung ranked eighth here.

Prior to the 2021 season, Kim Ha-sung challenged the Major League through the posting system. He also successfully signed a four-plus-one-year, $39 million contract with the San Diego Padres. In his first season since his debut, Kim Ha-sung played in 117 games, clearly falling short of expectations with 54 hits, eight homers, and a batting average of 0.202 OPS of 0.622. Due to his sluggishness, he had to worry about starting the game. However, starting in the 2022 season, Kim Ha-sung's position has completely changed.

Kim Ha-sung was reborn as the main player in the 2022 season when Fernando Tatis Jr. was declared "season out" for taking banned substances along with wrist surgery. As a result, he played 150 games, achieving remarkable growth with 130 hits, 11 homers, 59 RBIs, 58 runs and 12 steals, and at the same time, he was selected as the final candidate for the Gold Glove in the National League shortstop category. And when San Diego hired Xander Bogaerts, a big shortstop, in the winter of that year, other clubs began to covet Kim Ha-sung.스포츠토토

However, there has been no change in Kim Ha-sung's position. Prior to the 2023 season, the San Diego Padres sent Kim Ha-sung to the second base while leaving Bogartz at shortstop. He then moved Tatis Jr., who shook off the banned substance punishment, to the outfield to clean up traffic. As he played various infield positions except for the first baseman in the KBO league, Kim Ha-sung was able to ease the burden on defense by moving to the second baseman, and in 152 games, he played 140 hits, 17 homers, 60 RBIs, 84 runs scored, and 38 steals, raising his level again with a batting average of 0.260 OPS of 0.749.

In particular, Kim Ha-sung moved his position to second baseman last year, but he also played as a shortstop when Bogartz took a break, played as a third baseman when Manny Machado was out of the lineup, and was selected as a Gold Glove candidate in the National League second baseman and utility category. He also held "golden gloves" in his arms in the utility. And after a hot winter last winter, being mentioned as the top trade choice again, he is returning to shortstop this year to play the season.

As of Friday, Kim had 62 hits, 10 homers, 37 RBIs, 43 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases in 83 games, recording a batting average of 0.223 OPS of 0.718. His batting average has significantly decreased compared to the past two years, but based on his outstanding batting eye and faster home run pace than last year, his OPS has been doing well. Was it because he was the second baseman last year? The number of errors has increased significantly this year. However, chances are high that Kim Ha-sung, the "Gold Glover" will embrace a far better contract than when he entered the big league after the end of this season, an infielder that many clubs are still interested in.

This is evident from the fact that as many as 17 clubs in the Stove League expressed interest in recruiting Kim Ha-sung last year, and multiple U.S. media outlets valued Kim Ha-sung's contract at more than 100 million dollars. Among them, Kim Ha-sung was ranked eighth in the FA power rankings selected by "MLBTR." The media outlet said, "Kim Ha-sung is one of the best defenders. He is a high-scoring player in all infield positions. San Diego also liked Kim Ha-sung's defense capability, so it moved Xander Bogartz to second base and assigned Kim Ha-sung to play full-time shortstop."

There is nothing to blame in defense, but what is regrettable is his attack power. "Kim Ha-sung's offensive profile is not that interesting, but he is a batter who possesses excellent strike zone recognition and decent contact capability. As much as he was struck out, Kim Ha-sung drew as many walks. He is recording .233/.333/.385 in 328 at-bats for a 0.236 BABIP (in-play batting ratio) that depressed Kim Ha-sung's overall performance," he said.

"Kim Ha-sung has some bad luck, but his batting index is not impressive," MLBTR continued. The 35.5 percent hard contact ratio this season is career-high. However, he is still a few points lower than average. "Kim Ha-sung is showing a similar pace to his personal record of 17 home runs last year, but he will never pose a big threat," Kim said in expressing regret over his performance in offense. However, the media's view is that he will be able to secure a multi-year contract.

"Kim has been worth four WAR wins in the two years since he had his first season that did not suit the level of the Major League," MLBTR said. "Kim has shown a similar pace this year. Considering his performance this season, there may not be much improvement, but his combination of contact skills, defense, and baserunning (53 steals in the past two seasons) has made him an above-average player," he said. "Kim is entering his 29th season and will be able to sign a five-year contract."

The "MLBTR" picked Juan Soto of the New York Yankees as its power ranking No. 1, followed by Corbin Burns as the second and Willie Adames as the third. Adames was frequently mentioned as a strong candidate for shortstop resource trade along with Kim Ha-sung. Alex Bregman was ranked fourth, Max Fried was fifth, Jack Flaherty was sixth, Pete Alonso was seventh, Kim Ha-sung was eighth, Nick Pivetta was ninth, and Luis Severino was tenth.