Being considered for a trade can mean many different things. Either you have an ambiguous use for him, but the other team needs him, or he’s so valuable that you can trade him for a piece that your team needs more.
Kim Ha-Sung (28-Pittsburgh Pirates) has definitely increased his value in a single season. Once considered a trade target due to his inability to secure a starting job, he is now ironically being talked about as a trade chip a year later due to his increased value.
American media outlet Lumberjack put Kim at the top of its list in a story titled “Pittsburgh’s Top 5 Position Player Trade Targets” on Wednesday, asking, “Who are the top five position players Pittsburgh should pursue as trade chips?”
The outlet added: “San Diego is looking to shed some payroll this winter. One of the players whose name has come up in trade talks is infielder Ha-Sung Kim, who has been one of the best infielders in baseball for the past three seasons and has posted at least 12 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in each of his Major League Baseball seasons.”
“His bat has also gotten better each season. In 626 at-bats, he hit .260 with a .351 on-base percentage, .399 slugging percentage, .330 weighted on-base percentage (wOBA), and a 112 adjusted run production (wRC+). “In addition to wOBA and wRC+, he set career highs in each of his three triple slash numbers. He walked 12% of the time, and at one point his OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) was over .800, making it look like he could get some votes in the MVP voting.”
By far his most valuable attribute is his defense. “Kim’s defense is his calling card. There’s a reason he’s a Gold Glove finalist at second base,” he said, “He has a +10 DRS and +7 OAA (Outs Above Average) in just under 900 innings at second base.”
“If he played either shortstop or third base on a regular basis, he would be a Gold Glove finalist at either position.” “In just 590⅓ innings at the hot corner, he posted a +9 DRS and +2 OAA, and at shortstop, he has a +22 DRS and +7 OAA over his career. This is the second year in a row that he has posted double-digit DRS numbers at one position. Last year he played shortstop and this year he played second base.”
Pittsburgh’s acquisition of Kim also gives the team a top-notch infielder. “He’ll slide Jared Triolo to first base and send Keybrian Hayes to the corners,” the outlet wrote, adding, “Of course, O’Neill Cruz is the weakest link, but with Kim and Hayes flanking him, at least some of his defensive problems could be alleviated.” 보스토토 도메인
The praise for Kim continued. “He’s an above-league average hitter and one of the best middle infield defenders in the game, with a wins above replacement (fWAR) per FanGraphs.com of about 4.0 over the past two seasons,” he wrote, adding, “He’s due $8 million next year.