Weekend Reflections: High-salaried hitters Kim, Riley dragging down Braves

Manager Walt Weiss should be out of patience with Kim. Weiss’ latest, desperate gambit was giving Kim three straight starts at San Francisco over the weekend. Kim went 0-for-8 with two walks and four strikeouts.

Kim has made 82 plate appearances; he’s reached base 14 times and struck out 22 times. Kim has zero extra-base hits.

Enough is enough. Kim should stay on the bench, because the Braves are worse off when he plays. Baseball Reference and FanGraphs both credit him with negative Wins Against Replacement.

Kim would have been designated for assignment by now if not for his salary. It’s third-highest on the payroll behind Riley and Matt Olson ($22 million).

That can’t be the only reason Kim plays.

Anybody else would be a better option. Weiss has two good ones with Mauricio Dubón and Jorge Mateo. Kim shouldn’t play ahead of either one of them anymore.

Weiss gave Kim regular starts when he returned from the injured list in May. He eventually cut Kim’s playing time: three starts during a 12-game span through June 10. Weiss sent Kim out for eight starts in the past 13 games.

The three straight games in San Francisco should be the end of that experiment. Kim couldn’t even get a bunt down to move over a runner during Sunday’s loss to the Giants. Giants right-hander Robbie Ray walked him, for some reason.

Riley has been a better hitter than Kim, and for longer. He deserves more benefit of the doubt. Riley is using that up fast, though.

During spring training, I told Riley that although he produced below his standard the past two seasons, he wasn’t awful. His response: “They pay me to hit homers and drive in runs.”

Riley hasn’t done much of that this year, which has truly been bad. The league average for adjusted on-base plus slugging is set at 100. Riley had compiled an 80 OPS+ through Saturday.

There was hope of a turnaround when Riley hit five homers during a 17-game stretch in May. But he hasn’t homered since May 20. The 32-game streak without one is the longest of his career.

Weiss will keep sending out Riley and hope he can at least produce like he did from 2024 to 2025.

The manager should abandon hope that Kim can turn it around.

Hawks keep Buddy Hield as trade bait

HoopsHype reports Hawks guard Buddy Hield remained on the roster after Sunday’s deadline, so his $9.66 million contract is fully guaranteed for 2026-27. The chances are good Hield won’t stay on the roster for long.

Hield played only seven games for the Hawks after arriving in a trade in February. There’s no room in the rotation next season, either. Hield has the most value to the Hawks as filler for matching salaries in trades.

NBA writer Jake Fischer reports the Hawks are involved in “several trade scenarios” that include Hield. According to HoopsHype, the Hawks are “keeping tabs” on Celtics star Jaylen Brown.

I’ll be surprised if that amounts to much.

Brown, 29, is among the best two-way players in the league. But he doesn’t fit the timeline the Hawks have created by building the roster around Jalen Johnson, 24.

The price to acquire Brown would leave little depth around Johnson. It also could cost a bushel of valuable draft picks: ESPN reports the Celtics have asked for as many as four first-rounders for Brown.

Hawks president Onsi Saleh worked to restock draft picks after his predecessor traded several away. San Antonio owns the Hawks’ 2027 first-round pick.

There were several reports about the Hawks pursuing Giannis Antetokounmpo before the trade deadline. It turns out the Hawks had already told Milwaukee they weren’t interested.

So, take the rumors linking Brown to the Hawks with a grain of salt.

No trade help for Braves anytime soon

The Phillies (47-37) are gaining ground on the Braves (49-33) in the National League East. The division lead was 9 ½ games to begin the month. It’s down to three games now.

The Braves need reinforcements. They likely won’t be coming soon.

During an interview with BravesVision that aired Sunday, president Alex Anthopoulos said he’s on the lookout for possible trades. But Anthopoulos said he doesn’t expect much activity leaguewide until after the All-Star break (July 10-17).

The trade deadline is Aug. 3.

Anthopoulos said it’s advantageous to wait until that time, anyway, because his team’s needs could change by then. Right now, pitching tops the list. Braves starters had a 5.88 ERA in June, through Saturday.

Bryce Elder got knocked around in his past three starts. The Braves still don’t seem to have enough trust in Reynaldo Lopez’s surgically repaired shoulder to put him in the rotation. Spencer Strider is on the 60-day injured list.

It’s not all bad news for the rotation.

Chris Sale is still great. Martin Pérez’s late-career resurgence appears to be sustainable. Hurston Waldrep returned to the big leagues on Sunday after February elbow surgery and pitched two scoreless innings in relief.

The Braves could use at least one more reliable starter. Anthopoulos told BravesVision there are only so many prospects he’d be willing to part with in trades. Dealing from the major league roster would hurt the depth that’s kept the Braves afloat.

Trades won’t resolve the Kim and Riley situations. Kim has no trade value. Riley is due $132 million over six years after this season. That’s not appetizing now that he’s in Year 3 of a downward trend.

Three quick thoughts

You can now get my column sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for my newsletter here.