At the onset of the General Manager Meetings, the Philadelphia Phillies kicked things off with a bombshell report: Trea Turner and Brandon Marsh are on the trade block. Clearly, Dave Dombrowski is desperate for a shake-up after three consecutive playoff runs that fell short of the NLCS.
What's less certain is whether another team is actually interested in taking Turner off the Phillies' hands; the 33-year-old shortstop put together what was easily the worst full season of his career this year, dramatically falling off from his fifth-place finish in MVP voting in 2025. With seven years and more than $190 million remaining on his onerous contract, moving him is a great idea in theory, but a near-impossible feat in practice.
However, even if Turner remains in Philadelphia this offseason, it's clear they need some insurance on the infield depth chart. Luis Arraez and Alec Bohm are likely goners in free agency, creating the need for a player who can capably fill in on the left side of second base, at the very least.
Enter, stage right: Ha-Seong Kim.
According to sources, the Phillies are eyeing free-agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim.
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) November 9, 2026
More from Jim Salisbury: https://t.co/juYrysMqaN
Phillies' interest in Ha-Seong Kim makes plenty of sense, but he comes with his own laundry list of concerns
Shortly after the Turner/Marsh rumors made their rounds, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that Kim has become a top target of the Phillies. It's not hard to see the appeal; the 31-year-old is a former utility Gold Glove winner and racked up 15.1 bWAR between 2021-24. At his best, Kim is a reliable above-average hitter who gets a big boost from strong fielding and baserunning metrics.
However, his last two seasons have been derailed by injury, with stints on the IL due to shoulder, back, and hand problems. He's played just 99 games in that time, accruing -0.4 bWAR and losing a step on the basepaths.
There's concern that his combination of age and injury history makes Kim an all-too-smooth fit on the Phillies' geriatric roster, but those factors will also serve to drive his price down in free agency. He played last year on a $20 million salary with the Braves, but he'll be lucky to earn even half of that this offseason following back-to-back down years.
Plus, the hallmarks of his game remain intact; Kim maintains elite chase, whiff, and walk rates, giving him an on-base-and-contact-centric profile that should mesh well with all the power that the Phillies have built around in recent years. And, despite his many ailments, he still accrued +4 Defensive Runs Saved at shortstop in 2026—Turner, for reference, finished at -17 DRS.
As far as insurance options go, Kim is a sensible fit in Philly as a cheap, high-floor utility man who can play like a starter when he stays healthy.
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