Ha-Seong Kim was going to be an intriguing option to help fill the Red Sox' second base vacancy. But the South Korean infielder chose to sign on with the Padres on a four-year, $28 million deal.
So, why not Boston?
Well ...
There are some things you just can't control, as Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom explained Wednesday when talking in general terms about these sort of international free agents making their decisions.
"In different situations you will sometimes see, especially when the money amount is smaller, there are other factors that come into play more," Bloom said in his WEEI interview. "Players will sometimes take teams, or pick among similar offers, based on other factors that are important to them. Whenever we’re involved that type of situation we want to put our best foot forward and make sure we show a player how we can appeal to them. But people are different and everybody has different things that they like and they value. Money is part of that, but sometimes there are other factors that are part of that. I think historically there are certain types of player who are drawn to Boston and there are certain types of players who would rather play elsewhere. This place is not for everybody and you want to make sure the players we’re bringing here in those circumstances are guys who are going to thrive playing here and really want to be here."