Ha-Seong Kim was the Padres’ best infielder in 2023, hands down, not Xander Bogaerts or Manny Machado.
As a utility player, he was expected to win the Gold Glove because defense had always been his strong suit since he moved here from South Korea. However,
Kim achieved all-time highs in his career with 17 home runs, 38 steals, and a.749 OPS, earning MVP votes for the disappointing Padres.
Machado hit 30 home runs in the first season of his three-year, $350 million contract, but he finished with an OPS of.782, the lowest since 2017 in Baltimore, largely due to a poor start to the season. He was placed on the injured list for the first time since he suffered a broken bone in his hand.
Bogaerts had a strong first month (.914 OPS) and last month (1.122 OPS), but the wrist injury that sapped his swing’s power over the middle four months of his $280 million contract with the Padres will be remembered as the first year of the deal.
Before suffering the worst season of his career (.689 OPS) and switching from second to first base to make room for the Padres’ new-look infield, Jake Cronenworth inked a seven-year, $80 million agreement. To make matters worse, in late August, Cronenworth suffered a broken wrist in a hit-by-pitch, ending his season just as he was starting to show signs of improvement (.827 OPS over the final 26 games).
To further complicate matters, both D
