TB's highest salary, Kim Ha-sung, registered on the ML roster, will return to the game against Minnesota on the 5th

Jul 04, 2025

TB's highest salary, Kim Ha-sung, registered on the ML roster, will return to the game against Minnesota on the 5th
Tampa Bay Rays Kim Ha-sung was registered on the major league roster on the 4th (Korea time). Photo = Tampa Bay Rays Club Official X Account



The long-awaited news has finally been delivered.

Tampa Bay Rays Kim Ha-sung has returned to the Major League.

The Tampa Bay club released Kim Ha-sung from the 60-day injured list (IL) and registered him on the active roster on the 4th (Korea time). Instead, he sent infielder Curtis Meade down to Triple-A"It was officially announced.




Tampa Bay, which took a break on the day, will continue its 10 consecutive away games against the Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, and Boston Red Sox from the 5th. That first game, the first of three consecutive away games against Minnesota at Target Field at 5:10 a.m. on the 5th, is Kim Ha-sung's return to the big league and his debut in Tampa Bay.

On August 19 last year, when he was in the San Diego Padres, he hurriedly returned to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field to avoid checks on the first base and ended the season with a left shoulder injury, and changed his team and entered the big league ground in 320 days.

Kim Ha-sung went into rehabilitation after undergoing surgery to seal the joints of his injured shoulder in October last year.




He gave up his 2025 $7 million mutual option with San Diego and entered the FA market, but as expected, no team appeared to offer a satisfactory long-term contract of more than three to four years. After waiting a few months, he signed a two-year, $29 million contract with Tampa Bay in early February this year and moved to the AL East. This year's salary is $13 million, the highest in the team, and next year's salary of $16 million is Kim Ha-sung's player option. In other words, they were given the right to opt out after this season.

However, it is unclear whether he will perform well enough to give up $16 million in the remaining three months of the regular season and the playoffs. For now, it seems highly likely that he will play for Tampa Bay next year.

TB's highest salary, Kim Ha-sung, registered on the ML roster, will return to the game against Minnesota on the 5th
Kim Ha-sung played 21 games in Triple-A. Photo = MiLB.TV Capture
Kim Ha-sung was transferred to Triple-A Durham Bulls on May 27 and entered a minor league rehabilitation game. However, he suffered right hamstring pain on June 12 and took a break for eight days before playing from the 21st. He batted .208 (15 for 72) with six RBIs, 11 runs scored, 15 walks, 10 strikeouts, six steals and an OPS of 0.602 in 21 Triple-A games. It is no exaggeration to say that all the airborne stocks have been put back on track.




Song's ability was the key to rehabilitation as the surgery site was the shoulder, and Kim Ha-sung played in 9 games as shortstop and 5 games as second baseman, respectively, showing qualitative defense.

Taylor Walls, who was in charge of Tampa Bay shortstop with the addition of Kim Ha-sung, is expected to change his position as a backup. Another shortstop, Jose Caballero, is expected to be used as a utility because he can defend both inside and outside. Walls and Cabello have excellent defense, but their offense is below the league average.

Tampa Bay ranks third in the AL East with 48 wins and 39 losses as of the 3rd. However, the gap between the joint leaders New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays (48-39) is only 0.5 game. At a time when the world's leading fight is in full swing, Kim Ha-sung is joining.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.