The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey reports the Red Sox could be looking to Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim to fill their second base void.
While a lot of McCaffrey’s report is dot connecting, the dots do make sense. Earlier in the offseason, there was a report that the Padres would be open to trading Ha-Seong for the right price and Tuesday’s trade of Juan Soto made it only more likely that the Padres may be looking to reset their roster a bit. Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer, Craig Breslow, also said that the Red Sox are looking to add a second base option who, ideally, “would be a right-handed bat who plays Gold Glove-caliber defense.” He mentioned that the team is more likely to acquire said player via trade than free agency. Kim had a breakout 2023 season, hitting .260/.351/.398 with 17 home runs, 84 runs, 60 RBI, and 38 steals in 152 games while also registering an Outs Above Average grade of 7. All the pieces line up, but whether or not the Red Sox will offer the prospects necessary to grab Kim remains to be seen.