Brewers Urged To Turn Eyes To Projected $49 Million Gold Glove Winner

Will the Brewers add another important piece this offseason?
Sep 10, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA;  General view of the helmet used by the Milwaukee Brewers before the start of the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images
Sep 10, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; General view of the helmet used by the Milwaukee Brewers before the start of the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers have been discussed a lot this offseason, but it would be surprising to see the team hand out a big deal.

Milwaukee has a lot of talent but does have holes on the roster. Many have speculated that the Brewers should add another infielder this offseason. That makes a lot of sense. The Brewers lost Willy Adames to the San Francisco Giants.

The Brewers have three very likely starters. Rhys Hoskins, Brice Turang, and Joey Ortiz will be starting unless something surprising like a trade happens. There still will be one more spot open. Caleb Durbin was acquired by the New York Yankees and could be a fit, but is young and hasn't made his big league debut yet.

SB Nation's Harrison Freuck compiled a list of five potential free-agent options to help the infield and the most interesting name mentioned was Gold Glove Award winner Ha-Seong Kim.

"After a 14th place finish in the (National League Most Valuable Player) race in 2023, Kim was limited to 121 games in 2024, though he still posted 2.6 bWAR," Freuck said. "Across four seasons with the Padres, Kim finished with 15.3 WAR while playing at third base, shortstop, and second base. He provides some pop, with 47 homers across 540 career games, and he’s also an above-average defender, winning a Gold Glove in 2024.

"He declined an $8 million mutual option for 2025, so he’s certainly looking for a deal larger than that. Kim is likely looking for a solid one-year prove-it deal — something in the ballpark of $12-$15 million would be my guess. We’ll see if the Brewers are willing to dish that out."

Kim's market value is projected to be $49 million over four years by Spotac. Don't be shocked if the deal he ends up landing in free agency ends up being lower, though. Kim underwent shoulder surgery in October. Maybe that could force him to land a one or two year deal as Feuck noted.

He was a Gold Glove Award winner with the Padres and can play all over the infield. This is the exact type of move the team should make.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Milwaukee Brewers On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu