Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, wiping out any hope he had of returning for San Diego’s playoff run. Kim, 28, has not played since Aug. 18, when he harmed his shoulder diving back to the bag during a game against the Colorado Rockies.
“I really tried everything to come back and help the team,” Kim told reporters on Saturday, including MLB’s AJ Cassavell. “But my body just wouldn’t listen to my mind. So I think as of now, my season is over, and it’s really frustrating and disappointing.”
It’s fair to conclude this is not an ideal outcome for either Kim or the Padres.
Kim will head into free agency this winter with some lingering concerns about his shoulder. In 121 games prior to suffering the injury, he had hit .233/.330/.370 (96 OPS+) with 11 home runs and 22 stolen bases. Kim has flirted with league-average offensive production in each of the past three seasons. That, plus his above-average defensive aptitude at shortstop, has been good enough for him to accumulate more than 13 Wins Above Replacement over that span, according to Baseball Reference’s figures.
The Padres, meanwhile, will be down a key player for the duration of their playoff run. San Diego slid veteran Xander Bogaerts back to shortstop earlier in September, backfilling his vacancy at the keystone with Jake Cronenworth, who was previously tasked with being the Padres’ primary first baseman. Manager Mike Shildt has been deploying a combination of Luis Arraez and Donovan Solano at the cold corner, with Arraez also alternating at the designated hitter position with veteran slugger David Peralta.
The Padres came into Saturday with a 92-68 record. They’re assured of being the National League’s top wild-card team, but they have no pathway to improving their standing since the Los Angeles Dodgers have already locked up the NL West.
