Gameday Preview (Friday): Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim Makes First Start For Rays vs. Twins

Tampa Bay begins a 10-game road trip on Friday in Minnesota, and free-agent shortstop Ha-Seong Kim will be making his first start of the season after coming off shoulder surgery. Here are the batting orders and lots of newsy nuggets on the pitchers.

Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim will make his first start for the Tampa Bay on Friday when they take on the Minnesota Twins. | David Frerker-Imagn Images

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Ater having serious shoulder surgery last fall, the Tampa Bay Rays knew it would take a while for free agent shortstop Ha-Seong Kim to finally make his debut with the team.

The waiting is over. Kim is in the Rays' lineup for the first time on Friday. He's batting seventh and playing shortstop when they open a three-game series in Minnesota against the Twins.

The Rays signed the former San Diego Gold Glove shortstop to a two-year, $29 million contract in February. He gets $13 million this season, and has a player option for $16 million next year.

He replaces Taylor Walls as the regular shortstop, though it is possible both could be on the field at the same time. Kim started several games at second base during his month-long rehab stint at Triple-A Durham.

Here are the details on Friday's game, the first of 10 straight road games for the Rays leading up to the All-Star break.

How to watch Rays-Twins

• Who: Tampa Bay Rays (48-39)
• When: Friday, July 4 at 4:10 p.m. ET
• Where: Target Field, Minneapolis, Minn.
• TV: FanDuel Sports Sun
• Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM/620 AM, WQBN 106.7/1300 AM (Spanish)
• Betting information: The Twins are favored on the money line at HardRockBet.com at minus-120, and the Rays' money line odds are plus-105. On the run line, you can bet the Rays minus-1.5 at plus-140 odds, and the Twins plus-1.5 runs at minus-185 odds. The over/under is 10.5 runs.

Here are the starting lineups for both teams:

Rays batting order

1. Josh Lowe RF
2. Yandy Diaz DH
3. Brandon Lowe 2B
4. Junior Caminero 3B
5. Jonathan Aranda 1B
6. Jake Mangum CF
7. Ha-Seong Kim SS
8. Chandler Simpson CF
9. Danny Jansen C

Twins batting order

1. Byron Buxton CF
2. Willi Castro 2B
3. Trevor Larnach RF
4. Carlos Correa SS
5. Ryan Jeffers C
6. Matt Wallner DH
7. Royce Lewis 3B
8. Ty France 1B
9. Harrison Bader LF

Pitching matchups

• ZACH LITTELL, Tampa Bay Rays: Zack Littell will take the mound for his 18th start of the year and his second against the Twins. It's the 65th start of his career, and fifth against Minnesota. ... The 29-year-old right-hander from Burlington, N.C. is 7-7 with a 3.61 ERA. ... The Rays won his first start against Minnesota 7-2 on May 26. He allowed only one run and three hits. ... That was the sixth win in eight straight Littell starts where the Rays won. ... Littell has given up 23 home runs this season, the most in the major leagues.

• CHRIS PADDACK, Minnesota Twins: Chris Paddack is 3-7 on the year, with a 4.70 ERA. ... The 29-year-old right-hander from Austin, Texas pitched that May 26 game vs. Littell and took the loss, but he gave up only two runs in 5 1/3 innings and left the game in the sixth with the score still 0-0. ... He allowed a Brandon Lowe single and Junior Caminero double before departing, and they both scored on a three-run homer off reliever Brock Stewart. ... This is Paddack's 18th start of the season, the most by any Twins pitcher. ... June was a rough month for Paddack. He made six starts and gave up 22 runs in 32 innings, a 6.06 ERA

Related stories on Rays baseball

• TOM BREW COLUMN: The Tampa Bay Rays have the best road record in baseball so far this season, and that's a good sign with 10 straight road games coming up starting on Friday. Here is Tom Brew's column on what''s been working on the road. CLICK HERE

• RAYS' PROSPECT HOPKINS SELECTED FOR FUTURES GAME: Montgomery Biscuits right-hander Brody Hopkins is heading to Georgia to represent the Tampa Bay Rays' Double-A affiliate, honored as being among the best prospects in the class. CLICK HERE

• RAYS' HA-SEONG KIM READY TO MAKE DEBUT: After a lengthy recovery from shoulder surgery, Rays infielder Ha-Seong Kim will make his long awaited debut with the club in their road series against the Minnesota Twins. CLICK HERE

• RAYS 2025 SCHEDULE: Here is the complete 2025 Tampa Bay Rays schedule, with dates, locations, game times and more, including results in real time. CLICK HERE

• WATCH JAKE MANGUM INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN:Speedy Tampa Bay outfielder Jake Mangum hit an inside-the-park home run on Wednesday, the first one in Rays history since 2023. Here's the video highlight, and some historic numbers. CLICK HERE