30-year-old gold glover is headed back to Atlanta on a one-year contract worth $20 million, according to a league source who spoke with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The former Gold Glove winner is expected to take over as the Braves’ starting shortstop right away.
At 30 years old, Kim was viewed as the top defensive shortstop available in a free-agent class that lacked depth at the position. Bo Bichette stood out as the only other major name, with expectations of a sizable long-term deal that might not even keep him at shortstop.
Ranked No. 29 on The Athletic’s free-agent list, Kim was projected by Tim Britton to land a three-year contract valued at $50 million.
“Our goal is for him to have a great year and we keep him long-term beyond this,” president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said.
Though Kim spent two stints on the injured list for back issues in 2025 and had the worst season of his five-year MLB career, the former Korea Baseball Organization star rejuvenated his free-agent stock with a healthy and productive 24-game stint with the Braves in September after Atlanta claimed him off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays.
That September performance led Kim and agent Scott Boras to decline a $16 million player option for 2026, which the Braves knew might happen if Kim played well. The Braves hoped his time around a team that embraced him from Day 1 — Kim said he thoroughly enjoyed his stint with Atlanta — might help in negotiations.
To cover themselves in case Kim went elsewhere, the Braves made a November trade for Houston Astros Gold Glove utility man Mauricio Dubón.
Kim played as many games in one month with the Braves as he did in five months with the Rays. He hit .253 with three homers, 12 RBIs, a .684 OPS and 93 OPS+ in 98 plate appearances for Atlanta. It was not up to his level with the San Diego Padres — he had a 103 OPS+ and 39 homers between 2022-2024 — but it was solid, especially given the long layoff before he arrived in Atlanta.
While Bichette is a far better hitter, the relatively small gap between Kim’s 4.2 bWAR average per 162 games and Bichette’s 4.5 says plenty about Kim’s defensive superiority. He won a Gold Glove as a utility infielder in 2023, a year that Kim also had career-highs in homers (17) and OPS (.749) and was 14th in National League MVP balloting.
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