Braves Receive Brutal Injury Update on Ha-Seong Kim

The Atlanta Braves were hit with their first major case of the injury bug before they could even get down to North Port for Spring Training. The team announced that Ha-Seong Kim sustained a hand injury while back home in Korea and underwent surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right middle finger.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Gary Lourie on Sunday in Atlanta. The recovery time is set for four to five months.

That's a pretty brutal update for the Braves to get. They get their shortstop, and he's out until May or June. Five months from the day of this article's publication is June 18. That's going to be about two weeks later than Ronald Acuña Jr. was out to start last season.

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Back in December, the Braves re-signed Ha-Seong Kim to a one-year, $20 million contract. He had turned down his $16 million player option for the upcoming season. So, the move netted him a modest pay bump for the season.

In an interview with his agent, Scott Boras, he affirmed that Kim had a lot to like about the Braves. One of them had to do with the new manager, Walt Weiss.

"Walt Weiss is a really good infield coach," he said during the Winter Meetings. "And I think that anybody who enjoys defense would enjoy Walt."

This interest culminated him coming back for at least one season, and the Braves had expressed desire to make this a long-term partnership. One thing is for sure. When you're on a one-year contract, which can be considered a prove-it deal, losing a chunk of the season again is not ideal.

In 24 games, he batted .253 with a .684 OPS, three home runs and 12 RBIs. Both of the counting totals were more than what he had with Tampa Bay. Before he went hitless over the final series of the season, Kim was batting .289 with a .770 OPS. His performance was stronger than the overall numbers suggest.

While this is a different injury from the one that plagued him with the Rays, it's another injury nonetheless. The good thing, for his sake, is that when this heals up, he should be fine. A healthy version of Kim will still be productive for the team.

With Opening Day a little more than two months away, barring another move, there will be a different shortstop to start the season. Based on the plan before Kim was re-signed. Mauricio Dubón will likely take on shortstop duties.

Nacho Alvarez is also another option for who could fill in at shortstop. While he has played at second and third base in the major leagues primarily played the position in the minor leagues.

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