The Utility Man has been linked to several teams this offseason, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, and San Francisco Giants. However, in a surprising development, Jim Bowden of The Athletic predicts that Kim could return to the San Diego Padres.
Bowden wrote, “The Giants had interest in Kim until they landed Willy Adames in free agency. Now, I think he’d be a great fit with the Red Sox, allowing them to keep Trevor Story at second base and giving Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell another year of development in Triple-A.”
He added, “However, the best fit for Kim is still with the Padres. They are a much stronger team with him at shortstop and Xander Bogaerts at second base than if Bogaerts plays shortstop.”
Kim has spent his first four MLB seasons with the Padres, posting a .242/.326/.380 slash line over 1,976 plate appearances. While his offensive stats are solid, he is best known for his elite defense, which has made him an essential asset to the team.
In 2023, Kim won a Gold Glove after primarily playing second base and then transitioned to shortstop during spring training for the 2024 season.
Though Kim is recovering from shoulder surgery and will miss the start of the 2025 season, he is still expected to secure a strong contract this winter. Over the past three seasons, he has been six percent above the league average offensively, further showcasing his value.
Meanwhile, the Padres have had a relatively quiet offseason in terms of adding new talent, but president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller has teased potential additions.
“We definitely have a lot of things that we were able to do and could line up on,” Preller said at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. “We’ll see where it all takes us in the next couple weeks. Even though we haven’t lined up on anything from a trade or free-agent standpoint, it’s been super active. Way further ahead from a knowledge standpoint today than we were when we got here on Sunday.”
Hopefully, the Padres can make moves to strengthen their roster before spring training begins in February.
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