Gold Glove infielder Kim Ha-sung (30) signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, which seems to be quite surprising news there as well. 메이저놀이터

Regarding Kim Ha-sung, who signed a two-year, $29 million (about 42.4 billion won) contract with Tampa Bay, the leading local media "Tampa Bay Times" published an article on the 3rd (Korea Standard Time), saying, "What did Tampa Bay think when it signed a $29 million contract with Kim Ha-sung?"

Kim Ha-sung signed a two-year, 29-million-dollar contract with Tampa Bay on April 30. After suffering a shoulder injury in August last year, he underwent a suture surgery in October to rupture his shoulder joint, giving the best treatment in the club's history to a player whose return is uncertain until at least May. 

The two-year, $29 million free agent (FA) contract was the second-largest fielder's FA contract in the club's history after Greg Vaughan's four-year, $34 million contract in December 1999. As the representative small market club in Major League Baseball, it is a team that is good at fostering and utilizing prospects or placing undervalued players in the right place.

According to "Cot's baseball contracts," Tampa Bay's 40-member roster will rank 27th overall in the Major League in 2025 with 81 million dollars. When calculating based on competitive equality, the 40-member roster will be ranked 28th overall with 120 million dollars. 

Such a club has invested more than 10 percent of the team's total annual salary in Kim Ha-sung. Kim Ha-sung will receive an annual salary of 13 million dollars (19 billion won) in 2025 and can enter the market again as an opt-out at the end of this season. He is already the team's highest-paid player this year. On top of that, incentives of up to 2 million dollars (2.9 billion won) are set for those who play 325 at-bats or more in 2025. If he remains in the team without an opt-out, he will receive an annual salary of 16 million dollars (23.4 billion won) in 2026. 

"The Tampa Bay Times" said, "This contract with Kim Ha-sung is meaningful in that it is the second largest among FA fielders. Kim Ha-sung's salary of $13 million in 2025 is the highest among the racers and the highest in the club's history. It is not common for Tampa Bay to invest this much," and explained, "If we receive all the incentives of 2 million dollars according to the number of at-bats, it will be the highest annual salary ($15 million) for the club recorded by pitcher Charlie Morton in 2019."

However, the media said, "Kim Ha-sung's contract can have a positive impact on the team," explaining that there is a reason for such investment. First of all, the media explained in terms of performance.

The media said, "Kim Ha-sung is considered a much better player in offense while matching Taylor Walls, an elite player in defense." "Although he did not receive much attention, he hired Kim Ha-sung as a shortstop, Danny Jansen, traded Jose Siri, who had a high strikeout rate, and used Johnny Deluca as the main center fielder. It was a move to reinforce all three positions of the team's core center line. Last year, these three positions OPS showed insufficient productivity by ranking 27th, 28th, and 25th in the Major League." 

"If the performance of the rest of the players (Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero, Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, Christopher Morel, Iloy Jimenez, etc.) is higher than Lee Dae-dae, the offense will definitely improve," he said, stressing that Kim Ha-sung is a player who can help in offense and defense. 

The media predicted that Kim Ha-sung's realistic return will be at the end of May, saying, "The club expects Kim Ha-sung to figure out a more accurate return schedule as he undergoes rehabilitation with the team's medical staff," adding, "At least Kim Ha-sung will be evaluated as an elite player recruited ahead of the trade deadline. We still expect to compete in the postseason even though the regular season will be held at Stain Brenner Field in Tampa this year due to the influence of Hurricane Milton." 

This means that he thinks Kim Ha-sung is a clear plus alpha to the existing power. Regarding the opt-out clause, he mentioned Kim Ha-sung's situation, saying, "This contract includes opt-out, so it can work in both Kim Ha-sung and the club's advantage," adding, "If Kim Ha-sung did not hurt his shoulder last year, the baseball community would sign a contract worth more than $20 million annually and more than $100 million."

"It is rare to have such a high-value player on a short-term contract, and the reason Tampa Bay chose Kim Ha-sung is because of his performance outside of his capability," he said. Again, it is related to opt-out rights.

The media said, "If Kim Ha-sung fully recovers his health and performs well in 2025, he can go back to the FA market." At the same time, if Tampa Bay offers Kim Ha-sung a qualifying offer worth about $22 million (KRW 32.2 billion) ahead of the 2026 season and refuses to do so, the club can receive a compensation draft pick. It is highly likely to be the top 35 pick," adding, "We can use Kim Ha-sung for $13 million for one season in 2025 and get a valuable draft pick."

On the contrary, even if Kim Ha-sung remains on the team in 2026, it is not a loss for Tampa Bay. The media said, "On the contrary, if Kim Ha-sung's return is delayed or he remains on the team with less than expected performance, the club can continue to use him or use him as a trade before and after the season to secure player resources while reducing the team's salary," adding, "Kim Ha-sung is performing well, but if he is pushed out of the postseason competition due to poor team performance, he may be able to transfer him at the end of the trade and receive compensation."

The Tampa Bay Times pointed out from various angles that Tampa Bay is also a business that has nothing to lose except to be absent for a long time due to slow recovery of shoulder injuries.