Padres’ Kim Ha-seong leaves game with shoulder injury

Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres exited his latest game with a shoulder injury after a dive back to first base on a pickoff attempt.

Kim hurt his right shoulder during the top of the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver on Sunday (local time). He opened that inning with a single off the starter Bradley Blalock, and with Luis Arraez at the plate, Kim dove safely back to the bag when the right-hander tried to pick him off.

After the safe call, Kim immediately signaled to the dugout for help and came up grabbing his right shoulder in obvious pain. He walked off the field under his own power while holding his shoulder.

The Padres later said Kim had jammed his shoulder and that Kim would have an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of his injury. It wasn’t immediately clear if Kim would need a stint on the injured list (IL). Kim has never been on the IL since joining the Padres in 2021.

“We’re going to have to check out the MRI images tomorrow and try to see how much damage is there,” Kim told MLB.com through interpreter David Lee. “But I’m just trying to stay optimistic and try to come back as soon as possible.”

Kim was replaced on the bases by Tyler Wade, who has been his backup at shortstop lately.

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 had been expected to decline that because he could command more money in a longer deal in the open market, but the severity of his shoulder injury might alter that.

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

He won the National League Gold Glove at the utility position last year, becoming the first Asian-born infielder to nab the top defensive prize, after splitting time at second base, shortstop and third base. Back to being a full-time shortstop this year, Kim has seen his defense slip a bit by advanced metrics.