Braves reinstate Ha-Seong Kim off injured list

It looks to be nothing more than a routine day of rest for the 36-year-old outfielder. Mauricio Dubon will cover left field in his absence while Ha-Seong Kim starts at shortstop and will bat ninth against Rockies’ right-hander Mason Adams.

The 30-year-old infielder recorded one of just four Braves’ hits in the contest with a one-out single off of Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the third inning. He then swiped second base to get himself into scoring position, but the Braves couldn’t cash him in from there. He struck out in each of his other two plate appearances on the day and is slashing a cringe-inducing .088/.180/.088 over 89 plate appearances on the season.

Kim delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to propel the Braves to victory over the Dodgers, and seemingly as a reward he gets his name on the lineup card the next day. He has been abysmal at the plate this season, hitting .078 (6-for-77) with no homers, five RBI and a 23/9 K/BB ratio in 86 plate appearances.

Kim was 5-for-76 on the season and hadn’t had an at-bat in 11 days, but the Braves picked him over lefty swinging Dominic Smith to face Tanner Scott in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth tonight and he came through with a 103-mph line drive to left on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Kim, who spent the month of the July on the IL, had been 0-for-27 since he last singled on June 3. Maybe the big hit will get him a start at shortstop this weekend. He’s gotten just one of those since being activated on Aug. 1.

Jarvis has seemingly taken over as Atlanta’s primary shortstop, even with Ha-Seong Kim back from the injured list, starting three of their last five games with Kim and Mauricio Dubón splitting the other two. The unheralded 25-year-old is hitting just .239/.287/.352 with one homer and 10 RBI across 97 plate appearances. He’ll need a strong finish to have any chance of being in the mix as an everyday option entering next season, lockout or not. Atlanta is going to be linked to a ton of shortstops in offseason trade rumors with Jarvis seemingly a stronger fit as a multi-position role player moving forward.

Kim returns to Atlanta’s roster for Tuesday’s series opener against the Marlins. The 30-year-old has been out since early July with right middle finger inflammation. He’s been a complete non-factor at the plate this season and can be ignored for fantasy purposes.

Kim has gone 2-for-4 with a homer across two contests during the All-Star break. It’s unclear whether the Braves want him to continue facing minor-league arms for a couple additional games at Triple-A Gwinnett since he was really struggling at the plate before hitting the injured list earlier this month.

There’s no way to sugarcoat the obvious that Kim has been a complete non-factor at the dish in his Atlanta debut this season. The 30-year-old was hitting .068 (5-for-73) with zero homers and one steal in 82 plate appearances before hitting the shelf with right middle finger inflammation last week. There’s still time for him to turn things around and the Braves are obviously hoping that the minor-league reset will jump-start that process.

While their major league teammates are getting a few days off, both Acuña and Ha-Seong Kim (finger) will begin their rehab assignments. They will both likely play multiple games in the complex league this week while all affiliates are on a break, and there is a chance Acuña Jr., who has been out since June 10, will return right after the All-Star break concludes. At worst, it seems like the 28-year-old could be back in Atlanta’s outfield by next week.

Kim has barely played for Atlanta recently with Jorge Mateo basically taking over the starting shortstop role. The 30-year-old has endured a brutal season at the dish, hitting .068 (5-for-73) with zero homers and one steal in 82 plate appearances since making his season debut back on May 12. It’ll be Mateo and rookie Jim Jarvis filling the void at shortstop in his absence.