"Kim Ha-seong, at the level of a backup on a minor league contract" — Brutal criticism and 'top priority' for release immediately after Atlanta's elimination

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The Atlanta Braves' fall baseball season once again came to a hollow end. With sweeping roster overhauls anticipated in the wake of their elimination from the National League Division Series (NLDS), local U.S. media poured out shockingly harsh criticism toward veteran infielder Kim Ha-seong (31), effectively designating him as the "top priority" for release.

On the 8th (Korean time), at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States, the Braves fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-4 in Game 4 of the 2026 Major League Baseball postseason NLDS (best-of-five series). With a series record of one win and three losses, Atlanta suffered an early NLDS exit for the third time in the past five years since winning the World Series in 2021.

Kim Ha-seong, who endured a difficult season this year due to frequent injuries and a batting slump, was left off the starting lineup for Game 4 on this day. He ultimately failed to secure even a pinch-hitter or defensive substitution opportunity in the latter half of the game, forcing him to sit in the dugout and watch his team's season end in solitude.

With this, Kim Ha-seong's 2026 season came to a complete close. In the regular season, he appeared in 51 games, posting a dismal record with a .116 batting average (15 hits in 129 at-bats), no home runs, nine RBIs, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 0.359. There was no turnaround on the fall stage either. Including the Wild Card Series, he went hitless in five at-bats across four postseason games, bowing his head in disappointment.

Before the bitter taste of elimination had even faded, sharp criticism from local U.S. media targeted Kim Ha-seong directly. The U.S. sports outlet "FanSided" focused on "players who will leave the team after the Division Series collapse" immediately following Atlanta's loss, placing Kim Ha-seong at the top of the release list.

FanSided pointed out, "How dismal Kim Ha-seong's performance was this season can be seen just by looking at his OPS of 0.359 over 159 plate appearances." This figure is nearly 0.400 below the Major League average (.718) for this season.

The outlet added, "The very fact that Kim Ha-seong made the postseason roster fully proves how thin Atlanta's infield depth was at the end of the season," adding a humiliating assessment. This is a cold observation suggesting he was included in the lineup merely to fill out the roster because there were no proper alternatives on the team's infield.

The media also dealt a direct blow regarding his salary and prospects for the next season. Regarding Kim Ha-seong, who joined this season with a large one-year contract worth 20 million dollars (approximately 26.8 billion won), they drew a line by stating, "It would be shocking if he were even close to a 10-million-dollar salary next season."

Mentioning his age as he is about to turn 31, FanSided left harsh criticism, stating, "Kim Ha-seong's current status is that of nothing more than a backup shortstop on the level of a minor league contract with a spring training invite," and adding, "If you think this veteran infielder still has the power to show in the big leagues, try convincing us."

With the collapse of his regular-season batting and the team's hollow fall elimination intertwining, Kim Ha-seong is set to face the most painful and harsh offseason of his Major League career as winter approaches.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original