Braves Keeping Faith in Ha-Seong Kim, Working to Return to Form

Ha-Seong Kim picked up a clutch hit that he desperately needed for the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night. His RBI single drove in the tying run in the bottom of the second inning. While the game was back-and-forth early on, the Braves ultimately pulled away and won 7-3.

On the board!#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/UJ1SeKyUP8
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 3, 2026

His hit snapped a four-game drought dating back to May 22. Due to his struggles at the plate, he's been absent from the lineup much of the time since that last game with a base knock.

"It's just he's in the middle of the process, you know, trying to get caught up to everybody that's been it for a few months already," manager Walt Weiss said. "So, it's good to see him get that hit there."

Weiss said he felt that Kim had been starting to put some good swings on the ball. But it's going to take time since he is still making up for not having gotten spring training when others did. He had nine rehab assignment games, and then he was thrust into action in the big leagues.

There will be work days along with getting him in the lineup. The idea is that he'll slowly get up to speed and be productive like he was at the end of last season.

"I believe Kim is going to be a big part of this, which is, you know, it's going to take a little bit of time," Weiss said.

The Braves shortstop re-signed over the offseason to a one-year $20 million deal. He was seen as the solution to the dilemma facing the team at shortstop. However, in the following weeks, he suffered a right middle finger injury while back home in South Korea.

He underwent surgery, and it was known from the jump that he would miss spring training and early months of the season. He managed to get back during May, but it's clear he has a long way to go.

Mauricio Dubon and Jorge Mateo, both of whom were acquired over the offseason, have had no trouble filling the void.

Both players came over in relation to Kim not being an option. Dubon was immediately a candidate to be the starting shortstop since Kim wasn't re-signed yet, and Mateo was signed after Kim suffered his injury.

Now, even with Kim as an option, both have helped the Braves bolster their depth and provide production throughout the lineup.

When Kim was arriving back from his injury, the hope was that he would provide an extra boost on top of the pleasant surprises that Dubon and Mateo proved to be. In the long run, maybe that can still be the case. However, we'll have to wait and see.

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