San Diego Padres infielder Ha-seong Kim, 27, is making waves in Major League Baseball (MLB), raising the profile of San Diego general manager A.J. Preller, who was instrumental in his signing.

The Athletic, a U.S. online sports publication, published an article on Nov. 11 (KST) in which it responded to readers’ questions, highlighting Kim’s performance while also evaluating Freller.

In response to a reader’s question about Kim’s performance, the publication said, “With San Diego’s star players currently struggling, Kim has continued to perform remarkably well,” adding, “It’s the best thing that Freller has ever done.”

“There’s a good chance the Padres will try to sign him to a long-term deal,” he said. “They have Juan Soto, Blake Snell, and Josh Hader, but I don’t think he’ll demand as much money as those guys.”

“Kim could play for San Diego through 2025 under a mutual option with the club, which would allow San Diego to pursue a long-term deal after the 2024 season,” The Athletic predicted.

Preller’s aggressive approach to signing players has not been well-received on the field.

A number of key free agent signings have underperformed expectations.

Most notably, the Padres signed shortstop Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million deal before the season, which was criticized as a waste of money.

One fan asked, “Why did the Padres sign Boharz when they had capable shortstops like Ha Sung Kim and Fernando Tatis Jr. They could have spent the money more efficiently, like signing Soto to an extension?

“San Diego had good defense and starting pitching, but offense was an issue,” the Dodgers explained, “especially with (starting third baseman) Manny Machado’s possible opt-out after the 2023 season, which was an insurance policy at the time.”

Boharz, who will make $25 million this year, has pushed Kim Ha-seong out of the starting shortstop role, but he has put up mediocre numbers with a .265 batting average, 11 home runs, and 37 RBIs.

In the midst of all this, Kim, who was not expected to do much, has turned in one of the best performances in the league and has become Preller’s saving grace. 메이저놀이터

This season, Kim is batting .288 (1st) with 15 home runs (4th), 41 RBIs (5th), a .384 on-base percentage (2nd), a .451 slugging percentage (3rd), and 27 stolen bases (1st-overall team).

His 5.9 wins above replacement (WAR), as measured by baseball stats site Baseball-Reference.com, ranks second among all MLB players.

The only player with a higher WAR is two-hitting superstar Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels – 9.0).

Kim’s salary this year is less than one-third of Boharz’s, at $7 million.

This media outlet reported that the KBO’s signing of Kim Ha-seong