The Diamondbacks were reportedly "determined" to leave the Winter Meetings with either Shin-Soo Choo or Mark Trumbo, and they've now landed the latter of the two, calling their role in Choo's market into question. That same report indicated that Choo is seeking something similar to Carl Crawford's seven-year, $142MM contract. Choo is arguably the top remaining free agent on the market, and talks with him were said to be reaching a "critical stage" last night. Here are Tuesday's Choo rumors (Choo-mors? …Sorry):
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Diamondbacks are now likely out of the market on Choo after acquiring Trumbo.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick wonders if the Diamondbacks' reported interest in Choo was ever more than just a ploy to get the Angels moving on Trumbo. As Crasnick notes, there was never a clear fit in terms of budget (Twitter links).
Earlier Updates
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that teams that have spoken with the Rangers in the past 24 hours have gotten the sense that Texas thinks Choo will be be far too expensive for them.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported late last night that the Rangers met with Scott Boras for a second time last night regarding Choo.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan writes that the Rangers' primary offensive targets are Choo and Nelson Cruz, but Sullivan echoes the sentiment that Choo's price tag could be an issue for Texas. Sullivan cites GM Jon Daniels, who stated yesterday that the addition of Prince Fielder figures to be his biggest move this offseason.
- As Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported earlier (on Twitter), the arrival of Rajai Davis in Detroit makes the Tigers less likely to land Choo.
In his 5th full season:
.271 BA.328 OBP.331 SLG.659 OPS
I don’t care what your defense/speed is like. You don’t deserve a $100M+ contract without knowing he has the ability to hit
Hitting and hitting for power are two completely different things. Please go look at the shortstop position as a whole. Most don’t hit for power. He is productive at the top of the lineup, wrecks havoc on basepaths, and scores runs(8th most in MLB)
You realize you are implying that speed and defense dont provide value and you’re wrong. Advanced metrics clearly show that SBs and great defense are worth it.
There were only 5 better defenders in baseball last year besides him(defensive WAR). He also was 3rd in the league with 42 stolen bases. These are things that you cant simply throw out because you want him to hit homeruns. Its 100million over the prime of his career(26-33)
Also with the way free agency is going 15mill AAV on a contract in 2017-2020 could be a steal for an All-star or a player who can post 4+ WAR
Runs are largely dependent on your team, hence why Adam Jones scored 100 with only a .318 OBP and 14 SB. I never implied that speed and defense don’t provide value. I’m saying they’re not worth $100Mill+. I’m not expecting him to hit for power. He slugged .331 this year, which is low for even singles hitters.
Fangraphs.com (the source of most sabermetric stats) lists Andrus as the 10th best defensive shortstop in the MLB last year. Sabermetric stats don’t really work to his favor, which makes sense.
Andrus is a pretty good player. I’m not saying he has no value. I’m just saying he’s not not worth a $118 million contract.
I guess we can agree to disagree. Fangraphs uses the overall WAR to assess values.. he was worth 18.7, 17.9, 14.0 million a year in wins. the deal locks him up at roughly 15. sounds like a fair price, until we see free agent contract continue to grow like they did this year.
I think contract is completely fair with the market inflating and the value of a productive SS. Like i said in an earlier post, once stephen drew signs we can see how much the market inflates.
We can agree to disagree. At the end of the day as long has his contract isnt a hindrance to the team, which is isnt right now, and he continues to lead and produce it isnt a serious issue.
He was upset with the Yankees because Girardi sometimes put him in a spot that didn’t accentuate his stats.
How he’s going to get walked 120 times a year and have way fewer RBIs.
I know I was saying he definitely went for the money not to worry about his stats.
Obviously, because GMs never lie.