Tampa Bay Rays Ha-seong Kim left Monday's game against the Chicago White Sox with a concerning ailment. The 29-year-old has gotten off to a slow start with the Rays after signing a two-year, $29 million contract this offseason. To be fair to Kim, he has been recovering for most of this season from shoulder surgery and did not make his debut until July 3. It's going to be a process as the Seoul native gradually works his way into this lineup, but tonight's setback was unfortunate to say the least.

Tampa Bay Rays beat reporter Marc Topkin disclosed why Kim suddenly left the game against the White Sox.

“Rays say Kim left game with lower back tightness.”

The Rays are currently in the midst of a competitive playoff race, as the franchise seeks to return to the postseason for the sixth consecutive year. Tampa Bay might be fourth in the AL East division right now, but they are just a game out of the final wild card spot. It'll be exciting to see what the front office does at the trade deadline, as this franchise boasts one of the best farm systems in Major League Baseball. Tampa Bay could decide to stand pat and continue to gradually develop its talented young prospects for the future, or be aggressive buyers over the next week in hopes of contending for an AL pennant.

To do that, the Rays would need to add to their starting pitching depth and also bring on another reliable bat that consistently gets on base. The rotation issue, unfortunately, is mainly due to injuries affecting some key players, such as 2024 All-Star Tyler Glasnow, who is now back after a lengthy absence. But the last thing this front office should do now is panic over these deficiencies, because either way, the future should be bright in Tampa.

Overall, this franchise is in a healthy shape now and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future. And Kim can certainly be a part of this rise back up the AL ranks. Hopefully, the shortstop's health setback isn't anything major, and he sees the field again soon as the Rays vie for another appearance in October.

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