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Padres and Kim ‘Progressing Towards Deal’

By Tim Richer |

Last month the Padres won the bidding for SK Wyverns lefty Kwang-Hyun Kim for $2 million. After some concerns of the low bid scaring off the Wyverns, they reluctantly accepted the bid and the Padres and Kim had 30 days to negotiate a deal. Well we’ve reached day 29 and it’s been virtual radio silence on the matter. That was until yesterday when Corey Brock of MLB.com reported that the two sides were “progressing towards a deal“. Brock also notes that Kim has already taken a physical, so that will be one less hoop the Padres would be forced to jump through ahead of the deadline.

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It’s pretty important that the Padres get this deal done. While Kim isn’t the guy who will make or break the season, he does give them added flexibility. Currently the Padres are reportedly in trade discussions for both Matt Kemp and Justin Upton and you can bet that both the Dodgers and Braves will want to take big league pitching off of the Padres roster in order to complete a deal. What makes Kim as valuable as he is, is the fact that he could work as both a starter or reliever. If the Padres deal one Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross, Ian Kennedy or Jesse Hahn, Kim could slide into the 5th spot in the Padres rotation. Also the Padres wouldn’t have to worry about moving Alex Torres in any deals, and leaving them with Frank Garces as the organization’s top bullpen lefty. Instead they can rely on Kim for the job.

By the end of the Winter Meetings, we will know Kim’s fate, and while it isn’t paramount to the Padres having a successful off-season, he would still be an interesting addition who could end up being the second coming of Hyun-Jin Ryu. Even if he’s not, he’s still a low risk, high reward guy who Padres’ fans should look forward to seeing next year provided they get the deal done.

Next: Winter Meetings Day 2: Much Ado About Nothing

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