The Atlanta Braves are not considering benching shortstop Ha-Seong Kim despite a slow start to the season, with manager Walt Weiss showing support for the struggling infielder after another 0-for-4 performance on Wednesday, May 27, against the Boston Red Sox.
“This game, these guys make it look really easy, but the game is extremely fast at this level,” Weiss told reporters, including Mark Bowman of MLB.com. “A rehab assignment does no justice to how fast this game is up here. So it just takes time to get caught up.”
Kim missed the first six weeks of the year after tearing ligaments in his finger over the winter. He’s slashing .095/.191/.095 through 47 plate appearances. Kim has a -12 wRC+ as Atlanta’s primary shortstop. He has a career-worst 27.7% strikeout rate.
Atlanta Braves Sticking With Scuffling Ha-Seong Kim in the Starting Lineup
The Braves claimed Kim from the Tampa Bay Rays midway through the 2025 season. He provided decent offensive production in a brief stretch with the club, hitting .253 with three home runs across 24 games. Kim had a $16 million player option for the 2026 season. He opted out of the deal and elected free agency. The infielder ultimately returned to the Braves and squeezed a bit of extra money out of the organization. Kim signed a one-year, $20 million contract in December.
Re-signing Kim seemed like a decent bit of business for the Braves at the time. The club suffered through brutal shortstop production in 2025. Atlanta ranked dead last with a .550 OPS at the position. Glove-first Nick Allen took the majority of the reps at shortstop, with Vidal Brujan, Orlando Arcia, and Luke Williams also covering brief stints. Kim performed the best of the options, excluding a one-plate-appearance sample from Jonathan Ornelas.
Kim was expected to be the everyday shortstop for the Braves. Instead, he injured his hand in January and opened the year on the injured list. The missed time and lack of Spring Training reps could be causing his underwhelming production. “It’s just so difficult when you don’t have a Spring Training and when you’ve missed a lot of time the past two years,” Weiss said, relayed by Bowman.
Who Could Replace Kim at Shortstop?
With Kim missing the first six weeks of the season, the Braves were able to try out multiple options at shortstop. Utilityman Mauricio Dubon has earned the majority of the games at the position so far. The veteran has scuffled to a .644 OPS over 96 plate appearances while playing shortstop. Dubon has performed better at other positions and has been a mainstay in the lineup. His primary value is his defensive versatility.
Jorge Mateo has also seen a decent run up the middle. The infielder has a team-leading .748 OPS in 61 plate appearances at shortstop. Mateo has a career-best 129 wRC+ through 33 games with the Braves this season. He’s hit so well that Weiss slotted him into the DH spot against the Red Sox. Atlanta was shut out 8-0, but Mateo came through with a pair of hits. He seems like the primary threat to Kim’s playing time.
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