Baseball

The A’s offered Ha-Seong Kim a four-year deal
Sébastien Berrouard
The A’s offered Ha-Seong Kim a four-year deal
Credit: Sportsnet

As recently as Monday, Ha-Seong Kim signed a one-year, $20 million deal with the Atlanta Braves.

But the Braves weren't the only ones interested in acquiring the Korean's services. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Sacramento A's offered him a four-year contract worth $48 million. The plan was to play him primarily at second base, with a few starts at shortstop during the season.

It's unclear whether this would have included any exit options, although it's safe to assume that the Athletics wouldn't have risked a four-year commitment that would have allowed him to retire after just one campaign.

However, Kim chose the Braves, who will have the opportunity to earn more money in the long term after agreeing to this contract with the Braves, only needing a three-year deal worth at least $28 million to top the A's offer.

This raises questions in Sacramento, as earlier in the offseason, team general manager David Forst was asked if Zack Gelof was still considered the A's regular second baseman when healthy. The executive replied that talking about health in this situation was an important part of the equation.

We may now have our answer in his case. The A's have a franchise shortstop in Jacob Wilson, so they're clearly looking for help at second base.

Kim's hypothetical arrival would have meant that Brett Harris, Max Muncy, and Darell Hernaiz would all have been competing for the third-cushion position, while Wilson and Kim would have secured the middle of the infield.

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