Padres shortstop Kim Ha-seong stalled in shoulder rehab

San Diego Padres shortstop Kim Ha-seong remains in a “holding pattern” in his slower-than-expected rehab from recent shoulder injury, his manager said.

MLB.com estimated Wednesday (U.S. local time) that Kim may return from right shoulder inflammation in late September or October. With the regular season ending Sept. 29, Kim may miss the rest of the regular season.

In this Getty Images file photo from Aug. 18, 2024, Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres (C) walks off the field with a shoulder injury after sliding to first base on a pickoff attempt during a Major League Baseball regular-season game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver. (Yonhap)

In this Getty Images file photo from Aug. 18, 2024, Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres (C) walks off the field with a shoulder injury after sliding to first base on a pickoff attempt during a Major League Baseball regular-season game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver. (Yonhap)

According to the report, Kim still hasn’t been able
to ramp up his throw without feeling discomfort in his injured shoulder. Kim took ground balls at shortstop Saturday but couldn’t throw across the diamond.

On Tuesday, following an offday, Padres manager Mike Shildt said the South Korean player was still in the same “holding pattern” in his rehab. Last week, Shildt noted Kim had taken “a good step forward” in his rehab, after the shortstop made throws across the diamond, albeit at less than 100 percent effort.

“Once a guy doesn’t take that next step, it’s not a setback, but it’s not a step forward,” Shildt said. “He’s not able to progress, and we’re a little bit flatlined.”

Shildt has been forced to move second baseman Xander Bogaerts back to shortstop for the first time this season.

Bogaerts was a four-time All-Star at shortstop during his 10 seasons with the Boston Red Sox and also played the position in his first year with the Padres in 2023. He shifted to second base for this year to make room for Kim, who had split time at second base, shortstop and
third base last year, to take over as the primary shortstop.

Kim hurt his right shoulder in a dive back to first base on a pickoff attempt during a game against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 18. The Padres placed him on the IL two days later with shoulder inflammation, Kim’s first trip to the IL in his four-year big league career.

The Padres entered Wednesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners at 82-64, 4.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the National League (NL) West. The Friars were tied atop the NL Wild Card race with their division rivals, Arizona Diamondbacks.

Kim is batting .233/.330/.370 this season with 11 home runs, 47 RBIs and 22 steals in 121 games.

This is the final season of Kim’s four-year, US$28 million contract with the Padres. The deal has a $10 million mutual option for 2025. He may decline that because he could command more money in a longer deal in the open market.

Source: Yonhap News Agency