Completed 4-year contract, signing a big contract after the season?

SD won’t sell Kim Ha-Sung after all!

The Padres blew the whistle on their seventh straight win with a 9-4 victory over Baltimore at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Monday (April 28). The win over Baltimore, one of the American League East’s top contenders and one of the league’s hottest teams this season, made it even sweeter.

It was a game that epitomized San Diego’s recent turnaround. Starter Michael King was dominant, striking out nine in six and a third innings and holding the Baltimore bats to two runs to earn his ninth win of the season. The offense came alive, pounding out 14 hits, including Manny Machado’s home run in the seventh inning. Every starter had a hit, including Machado, who was visiting his hometown team, with three hits and three RBIs, Xander Bogaerts, who has been on fire as of late, with three hits and one RBI, and Jurickson Profar with two hits and two walks.

Kim, who has picked up his hitting with back-to-back multi-hit games in the last two games, went 1-for-5 with a walk and two strikeouts in the starting eight. While he didn’t get a lot of hits, he still made up for it with his contributions on defense and his third straight game with a hit. His season batting average is .229 and his season OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) is .694.

The win was the seventh straight for San Diego, which improved to 57-50 on the season. They’re 8-2 in their last 10 games. The addition of Xander Bogaerts to a struggling batting lineup has given them more firepower, and the injury-plagued starting rotation has been led by Dylan Sease and Michael King. San Diego currently sits in second place in the National League West, and has closed to within 5.5 games of the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

Even if the Dodgers are objectively outclassed, the Padres are improving their chances of making the postseason. San Diego is currently in second place in the National League wild card race, behind Atlanta (55 wins and 48 losses). They have a one-game lead. Of course, the New York Mets, Arizona, and St. Louis are right behind them, but the good news is that they’re not backing down in this tight race.

This gives San Diego a clearer idea of where they stand heading into the trade deadline. At this point, with this record, no one would be foolish to give up on the 토토사이트 postseason. The future may be uncertain, but the time to run is now. Furthermore, San Diego has some big names like Darvish Yu, Joe Musgrove, and Fernando Tatisu Jr. who will return at some point in the second half. It’s more likely that they’ll be a “buyer” at the trade deadline, looking to transfuse the team’s deficiencies.

Conversely, the chances of selling Kim Ha-seong (29) or any of the other key players are very low. For now, the priority is to keep what they have and add new talent to bolster the team. Some have speculated that if the Dodgers don’t make the postseason this year, they’ll likely look to trade Kim, who has half a year left on his contract, for prospects. That was a theoretically possible scenario, but that’s not the case now.

Kim signed a four-year, $28 million guaranteed contract with San Diego in 2021 (with an option for 2025), making it more likely that he will complete all four years of his contract with the club. At the time of his signing, there was some criticism that it was a “redundant investment,” but Kim silenced those critics with his breakout season in 2022. In 2023, he increased his value by winning the National League Gold Glove for utility as the team’s starting second baseman. San Diego’s $28 million investment was returned many times over. It was a literal bargain.

No word yet on extension talks. With the team’s payroll already full, it’s not easy for San Diego to make a big offer to Kim. Kim is already recognized as a player who will require more than $100 million in total compensation over the course of a five- to six-year contract. Given the current state of the major league shortstop market, and the lack of good shortstops in free agency this year, he will be in high demand. It will be interesting to see if he can finish out his contract with San Diego and make a splash in free agency.