SF Giants can upgrade at 2B and reunite Jung Hoo Lee with his good friend

Atlanta Braves infielder Ha-Seong Kim has opted out of his contract. This provides a perfect opportunity for the SF Giants to upgrade at second base while at the same time reuniting Kim with Jung Hoo Lee.

Kim signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays ahead of the 2025 season that paid him $13 million for 2025 with a player option of $16 million for 2026. Kim decided to forego that $16 million and test free agency instead after he was traded from the Rays to the Braves midseason.

SF Giants can upgrade at second base by signing Ha-Seong Kim

There was no shortage of speculation about the Giants signing Kim last offseason. This was mainly because they were in the market for a shortstop and Kim had ties to manager Bob Melvin from their time together in San Diego and Kim was also friends with Lee dating back to their time as teammates in the KBO.

However, Kim was coming off shoulder surgery and it was unclear when he would return. Signing him would have been risky for a team that would have had to put Tyler Fitzgerald at shortstop to begin the year while they waited for Kim so instead president of baseball operations Buster Posey made a big splash by signing shortstop Willy Adames.

That move looks wise in retrospect especially after Adames came on later in the year, but now the Giants have a chance to sign Kim as well if he is willing to play second base for the team.

On the season in 2025 with both the Rays and Braves, Kim slashed .234/.304/.345 with five home runs and 17 runs batted in across 48 games played. He hit better after being traded to Atlanta so maybe it took him some time to get his rhythm back after missing time due to the shoulder issue.

If the Giants were to sign him, it would be with the hope that he could return to similar levels of production he put up in San Diego back in 2023 when he slashed .260/.351/.398 with 17 homers, 60 runs batted in, and 38 stolen bases.

Of course, he would be a lot more expensive than Casey Schmitt who was solid as the team's starting second baseman for much of the year. With the Giants focusing on adding pitching this offseason, upgrading at second base may seem like more of a luxury than a necessity.

But if Kim remains available deep into the offseason like he did last year, the Giants could scoop him up to add some more speed to their lineup and could then try to trade Schmitt to another team.