SAN DIEGO — Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim landed on the injured list for the first time in his career Tuesday, two days after he jammed his right shoulder. San Diego recalled infielder Matthew Batten from Triple-A El Paso in place of Kim, who indicated he hopes to return to the lineup next week when he becomes eligible.
“Initially, I thought that I would be able to come back within five days,” Kim said through interpreter David Lee. “But after talking with the training staff, the manager and the front office, I was told that maybe the 10-day (injured list) would be the better decision, considering the fact that we’re in the wild-card race and we as a team have a goal of reaching the World Series. So, in order to come back to my fullest 100 percent, I think this 10-day IL makes sense.”
We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/mPuhxGLmn8
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 20, 2024
Kim started 119 of the Padres’ first 125 games this season at shortstop. Sunday at Coors Field, he hurt his throwing shoulder diving back to first base and immediately exited the game, prompting concern that he had suffered a serious injury. Padres manager Mike Shildt said an MRI taken Monday revealed inflammation and less damage than initially feared.
Still, the IL stint comes at a less-than-ideal time. Kim, a Gold Glove winner and breakout performer in 2023, hit .367/.441/.533 in the last 10 games of what remains a down offensive season. Overall, Kim was hitting .233/.330/.370 with 11 home runs, including only one since June 23.
“It’s just overall disappointing, considering the fact that I think my hitting was starting to heat up and I was feeling good as well,” Kim said.
The Padres started utility player Tyler Wade at shortstop for a second consecutive game Tuesday night. Batten, another utility type, had started 12 games at shortstop this season in Triple A. The team appears reluctant to deploy former shortstop Xander Bogaerts at his old position after he spent the past seven months transitioning to second base. Jake Cronenworth, San Diego’s primary first baseman, has previous experience at shortstop and could join Wade and Batten as options during Kim’s absence.
For now, that absence is not expected to go into September. Kim’s IL stint is retroactive to Monday, meaning he can return as soon as Aug. 29.
“If it wasn’t his throwing shoulder, we probably would be a little more patient with him being able to come back (without going on the IL),” Shildt said. “But we didn’t want to get into this, ‘Let’s try to get him back and not be able to let it heal,’ so we just made the decision with him that the 10 days made sense. Who’s to say it won’t go past 10 days, but we’re optimistic it won’t or (that it will not go) too much further than that.”
Kim, 28, is in the final year of a four-year, $28 million contract. The deal includes a mutual option for 2025 that Kim likely would decline in favor of free agency. Kim and Milwaukee’s Willy Adames are projected to be the top shortstops available on the open market this winter.
(Photo of Ha-Seong Kim: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)
