Likely SF Giants free agent target switches to same agent as Lee and Chapman
This could mean his chances of becoming a Giant are greater.
As free agency ramps up in a month or so, one name that the SF Giants will most likely be connected to is shortstop Ha-Seong Kim. He recently switched agencies and is now represented by the notorious Scott Boras.
Boras represents many MLB players including Matt Chapman, Blake Snell, and Jung Hoo Lee. He is known for being tough to negotiate with, although the Giants were able to land all three of those players in free agency last year and were then able to lock up Chapman to a long-term deal.
Kim switching to Boras makes sense because he seems very likely to enter free agency. His contract with the San Diego Padres has a mutual option for 2025 and it seems like a pretty sure thing that Kim will decline his option and test the market.
Ha-Seong Kim being represented by Scott Boras could mean he will join SF Giants
The Giants could certainly use someone like Kim on the team in 2025. Even though he struggled in 2024 and recently underwent season-ending shoulder surgery, he is very solid defensively, has some power, and also has a lot of speed.
He slashed .233/.330/.370 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI in 2024. These numbers were down from his marks in 2022 and 2023, but they are not awful especially when you consider that he stole 22 bases and ranked 14th among MLB shortstops with a minimum of 100 attempts in Outs Above Average. Compare that to Tyler Fitzgerald who ranked 47th in that category and it is clear that Kim would be an upgrade defensively at the position. To put it a different way, Kim made 11 errors at shortstop in 1,046 and 2/3 innings played in 2024 while Fitzgerald had the same number of errors at the position in 594 innings played at short. Adding Kim would allow the Giants to slide Fitzgerald over to second base.
Kim played for manager Bob Melvin while he was in San Diego which is another potential draw to get him to play for the Giants. Melvin has spoken about how he wants the 2025 Giants to be able to win games in different ways whether it be by manufacturing runs or playing really good defense when the bats are cold. Kim fits that bill perfectly.
The fact that he is now represented by Boras may not make that much of a difference, but it cannot hurt that he now shares an agent with his good friend Jung Hoo Lee who he played with in Korea. Perhaps Lee and Chapman can play a key role in persuading Kim to join the Giants.
Kim would be a solid addition to the 2025 Giants and his recent agent switch is only going to make it seem more likely that the Giants will be able to sign him in free agency.