Yankees fans should be thankful Rays gave away red-hot slugger to Braves

There's a certain player archetype that the Tampa Bay Rays employ that has frustrated the New Yankees and their fans to no end over the years. Pesky. Versatile. A jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.

The best example of this was Ben Zobrist, who, during his Rays tenure, frustrated the Yankees with his ability to play all over the diamond and do a little bit of everything at the dish. This past offseason, it seemed that the Rays had acquired yet another one of those players when they signed Ha-Seong Kim to a two-year deal back in February.

The former San Diego Padre's season was delayed after heunderwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum that he injured last August, and his season debut did not come until July 4. The rust was apparent, with Kim slashing just .214/.290/.321 before in 24 games before Tampa placed him on waivers and lost him to the Atlanta Braves on September 1.

Yankees fans are grateful that the Rays gave away Ha-Seong Kim for nothing to the Braves

During his initial free agency, Kim appeared to be everything the Yankees needed, given his ability to play exceptional defense at second base, shortstop, and third base. Instead, New York decided not to pursue the 2023 Gold Glover due to their self-imposed budget, and instead tragically rolled with Oswald Peraza in the vital utility infielder role.

Since joining the Braves, Kim has been on fire, slashing .309/.372/.456 with three home runs in his first 19 games, showing what he can do when fully healthy. The Yankees can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing there's one less pest down in Tampa for them to worry about in 2026 after the Rays' shortsightedness.

And maybe all is well that ends well. While Kim would've been a great fit for the Yankees, his recovery from surgery would've meant that the club would've had to rely on Peraza for the majority of the first half anyway, had he signed here.

On top of that, Peraza's ineptitude led to the Yankees trading with Tampa for Jose Caballero to fill that role, taking away yet another thorn in their side from the Rays.

It's unlike the frugal Rays to miscalculate so poorly on a player like Kim and let him walk without at least getting something significant in return. For the Yankees, it's a blunder that will only help them in future matchups, and it should have fans breathing a sigh of relief.