Shin-Soo Choo Signs 7-Year/$130M Deal With the Rangers

Guess this means Michael Choice will have to wait a while longer.

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS
choo's deal with rangers is agreed to, as stated. 7 years. here's the story.

http://cbsprt.co/19EF6g0

wow.

Rangers Sign Shin-Soo Choo
By Jeff Todd [December 21 at 11:13am CST]
Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo has reached agreement with the Rangers on a seven-year deal for $130MM, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Choo's deal includes no opt-outs or options, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, but does contain a limited no-trade clause. Choo, 31, is a client of the Boras Corporation.

As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes wrote in his profile of Choo, who ranked third on Dierkes's list of the top fifty free agents, the South Korean on-base machine hit the open market at an optimal time. Having never seen his OBP drop below a .373 mark, Choo reached another level last year with a .285/.423/.462 line (over 712 plate appearances) in his first and only season with the Reds. Of course, as Dierkes explained, Choo's biggest weakness -- his struggles against left-handed pitching -- could force him into a platoon role in the later years of his deal. Choo also knocked twenty home runs in 2013 for the third time in his career. Batting atop the lineup in Cincinnati, Choo also swiped over twenty bags for the fourth time, though he was also tagged out eleven times in the process.

Though Choo played in center last year for the Reds, the expectation is that he will man a corner position in Texas. If the Rangers indeed intend to go with Leonys Martin up the middle, it would seem likely that the club would be out of the mix for Nelson Cruz. After tacking on over $200MM in future obligations by trading for Prince Fielder and adding Choo, the Rangers would figure to be out of the mix for Masahiro Tanaka, in the event that he is posted.

At seven years and $130MM, Choo will receive an average annual value of just over $18.5MM. His deal slots in $23MM shy of that inked by Jacoby Ellsbury with the Yankees over the same length of time. The Rangers were willing to go to seven years and a big sum of money, says Passan, in part due to the weak set of hitters available via free agency next year. Of course, new candidates could emerge; one year ago, it would have seemed quite unlikely that Choo would command this kind of payday.

The Yankees may have been willing to reach the $140MM level in a seven-year pact with Choo, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. But the lack of state income tax in Texas boosted the value of the Rangers' offer, and Choo apparently also preferred to join Texas.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News first reported (via ) that the deal was expected to be worth $130MM.

That lineup gets better and better every year

Pitching doesnt though.

So does he feel stupid for not accepting the rumored $140M/7yr deal with the Yanks?

D-Lite said:

So does he feel stupid for not accepting the rumored $140M/7yr deal with the Yanks?

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Nope, he'll still make more. No state income tax on any game played in Texas. So that's 81 in Arlington plus all the games in Houston.

Its also nice to see a player that preferred teams other then the Yankees

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wolfmanalfredo said:

Its also nice to see a player that preferred teams other then the Yankees

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Freedom Card Board mobile app

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Been happening more and more. Other big fish with big money and winning teams. Other teams getting tv deals has started leveling the field. Still a long way to go though.

wolfmanalfredo said:

Its also nice to see a player that preferred teams other then the Yankees

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Freedom Card Board mobile app

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Pay attention to recent offseasons. Yanks haven't been going after big name players for the past few years. This year they did because they freed up a lot of money.

(Beltran and Ellsbury both took less money to come to the Yanks btw)

Plus the 130 million is more than 140 million in texas. Choo got paid more in Texas than in NY.

maxe0213 said:

Pay attention to recent offseasons. Yanks haven't been going after big name players for the past few years. This year they did because they freed up a lot of money.

(Beltran and Ellsbury both took less money to come to the Yanks btw)

Plus the 130 million is more than 140 million in texas. Choo got paid more in Texas than in NY.

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The Yanks had a crowded OF even before the Beltran signing. I think he wanted guaranteed F/T work.
Prices this offseason are just ridiculous.

That is one STACKED linuep. Imagine if Profar comes out blazing.

I'm an Indians fan #1 from my childhood but since I live in Dallas now, the Rangers are #2 . Their line-up is STACKED. Should be a fun team to watch next year.


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aarne13 said:

The Yanks had a crowded OF even before the Beltran signing. I think he wanted guaranteed F/T work.
Prices this offseason are just ridiculous.

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Ichiro and Wells can't play for crap. Gardner, Soriano, Ellsbury, Beltran isn't a crowded OF especially since Beltran and Soriano will both need DH days often.

wolfmanalfredo said:

Its also nice to see a player that preferred teams other then the Yankees

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Freedom Card Board mobile app

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LMAO! He turned down the Yankees because he wanted MORE money, not because he didn't want to play for them.

maxe0213 said:

Ichiro and Wells can't play for crap. Gardner, Soriano, Ellsbury, Beltran isn't a crowded OF especially since Beltran and Soriano will both need DH days often.

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Ok. Check. 6 F/T players fighting for 4 spots is not crowded at all. Regardless of how Wells and ichiro did last year they are still expecting full time work.

maxe0213 said:

Pay attention to recent offseasons. Yanks haven't been going after big name players for the past few years. This year they did because they freed up a lot of money.

(Beltran and Ellsbury both took less money to come to the Yanks btw)

Plus the 130 million is more than 140 million in texas. Choo got paid more in Texas than in NY.

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Who offered ellsbury more money? I heard a rumor that the mariners did, but they denied any large offer to him. Did I miss this somewhere or is it just speculation

aarne13 said:

Ok. Check. 6 F/T players fighting for 4 spots is not crowded at all. Regardless of how Wells and ichiro did last year they are still expecting full time work.

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Thats completely false. Ichiro and Wells both do not expect full time jobs. Especially Wells.

Wells will for sure be cut. Ichiro MAY still be with the team however thats unlikely unless Gardner is traded. There is really no outfield competition in the Bronx bud. its pretty clear to fans, ownership, management, and the players that its going to be Gardner, Ellsbury, Beltran with Soriano at DH and also rotating with Beltran. Ichiro may be kept as backup but thats up in the air.

The only competition as of right now for the Yanks is in the pitching department and 2B.

ballerskrip said:

Who offered ellsbury more money? I heard a rumor that the mariners did, but they denied any large offer to him. Did I miss this somewhere or is it just speculation

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Ellsbury was offered 9 years by the Mariners.

maxe0213 said:

Ellsbury was offered 9 years by the Mariners.

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Speculation. A sole tweet from Jon Heyman is hardly credible.