Long-Term Deal Ha-Seong Kim Turned Down to Join Braves Revealed

The Atlanta Braves won out despite a confirmed multi-year contract being on the table for Ha-Seong Kim from an AL West team

Kim was willing to bet on himself by taking a shorter team | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Ha-Seong Kim will be back in an Atlanta Braves uniform for the 2026 season, and it happened despite multi-year offers being on the table for him. It has been known for a couple of days that he had turned down these options, but one of them has surfaced.

The Athletics pursued Kim as help at either second base or third base to complement Jacob Wilson, according to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal. He was offered a four-year, $48 million contract. He opted against it.

Rosenthal added in his report that this is not an uncommon trend among Scott Boras clients. This would have been a deal that was below market value. By taking the one year deal, he keeps his average annual value high and will have a prove-it year to nab a longer contract.

What happens next for the Atlanta Braves? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Braves news delivered to your inbox daily!

Before opting out of his player option, Kim was set to make $16 million in 2026. He still managed to get himself a 25% pay bump for the upcoming season by hitting the open market. When the time comes to be a free agent again next winter, he has a higher bar for what teams will have to pay.

Taking an annual pay cut for an amount of money that he'll likely still be able to net in the shorter team was likely a non-starter. That being said, the Braves might have gotten him on a one-year contract. That doesn't mean they aren't still trying to have him for longer.

“With Kim, I’m hopeful it’s the same thing,” general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. “Come here, best player you can be, have a great year, get the contract that you deserve, and hopefully this is a longer marriage than a year.”

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.

This experience in Atlanta proved to be a good one for him, and that showed in the contract.

"I just think he got there, and he was healthy, you know?" his agent, Scott Boras, said at the Winter Meetings before Kim signed. "He got to let it go and play."