The Texas Rangers reached an agreement on a seven-year deal worth $130 million with free agent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Choo, a Scott Boras client, reportedly turned down an offer of seven years and $140 million from the New York Yankees earlier this offseason.
The 31 year-old Choo is coming off an excellent season. Batting leadoff for the Cincinnati Reds, Choo produced a .285/.423/.462 line for a 151 wRC+, receiving a career-high 712 plate appearances. Teammate Joey Votto was the only NL hitter with a higher on-base percentage than Choo. He cleared the twenty home run mark for the third time in his career, and the 5.2 fWAR was his second highest mark. In addition, he stole 20 bases for the fourth time in his career, but was caught 11 times and posted a negative baserunning score.
Choo is an on-base machine, and the Korean native has never posted an on-base percentage below .373. His .389 career rate is one of the best in the game. Still, he struggles against lefties, as shown by a .243/.340/.341 mark against southpaws. In 2013, those numbers dropped to .215/.347/.265 with no home runs.
It’s a bold move by the Rangers, who traded for the albatross contract of one-dimensional first baseman Prince Fielder earlier this season. Between Choo, Fielder and Elvis Andrus, the Rangers will have a big chunk of change locked up for several seasons to come.
While the Choo investment may not look very good in a few years if his struggles against lefthanders continue or his defense declines further, it should boost the Rangers chances of contending for the division after two consecutive years of finishing second to the Oakland Athletics.
