Ha-Seong Kim's Return to Padres Suddenly in Jeopardy

Maren Angus-Coombs | Sep 9, 2024

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres' shortstop situation got a little more complicated when manager Mike Shildt revealed on Sunday that his starter might not be returning as soon as he hoped.

According to Shildt, Ha-Seong Kim is “not as close as we’d like” to making his return from right-shoulder inflammation, which has prompted him to have some discussions with Xander Bogaerts about returning to his old position.

“Yesterday was not necessarily a setback,” Shildt told MLB.com's A.J. Cassavell after the Padres’ 7-6 loss to the Giants on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park. “It just wasn’t a move forward. So we’re still in the evaluation process.”

Kim injured his shoulder nearly three weeks ago in Colorado while diving back to first base. The Padres were initially hopeful he'd return after the minimum 10-day stint on the injured list. However, as he ramped up his throwing, the discomfort in his shoulder persisted.

During Saturday’s pregame drills, Kim fielded grounders at shortstop and worked on increasing his throwing distance. However, he hasn't reached full strength yet and struggled to throw at full capacity. His return this season is still up in the air, and the Padres are preparing backup options in the meantime.

Mason McCoy has been filling in and while his defense is solid, his offense is lagging. He’s hitting just .204 with a .523 OPS.

This is when Bogaerts should enter the picture. He has comfortably settled in at second base and even expressed a preference to stay there. However, the Padres might need him at shortstop, allowing Jake Cronenworth to move from first to second, and Luis Arraez to shift from DH to first base. This would open up the DH spot for a possible platoon between David Peralta and Donovan Solano, with Solano also capable of playing first.

“Everything’s pretty fluid right now,” Shildt said. “But the good thing is we’ve got options.”

After the game, Bogaerts expressed some hesitation about returning to shortstop but acknowledged the potential need for the move.

“Obviously, it sucks pretty much that Solano is out of the lineup,” Bogaerts said. “He’s still having an awesome year, but he was having an even better one until he stopped playing every day. So I don’t know, man.

“I did have some talks. It really sucks for Solano, not being able to play every day and us knowing what a quality at-bat he gives you every at-bat pretty much. So if we can get him in there, it would be nice.”