The Yankees have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent first baseman/outfielder Ji-Man Choi, his agency in Korea told Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency (h/t: Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net, on Twitter). Choi will be invited to Major League Spring Training and will compete for a roster spot. If he makes the big league club, he’ll earn a $700K base salary.
Choi’s representatives tell Yoo that he also received offers from 10 clubs, including the Brewers, Reds and Cardinals, but elected to sign with the Yankees, who had showed interest in Choi last offseason. Mark Teixeira’s retirement and the ability to compete for at-bats at first base factored into the decision, Yoo writes. As it stands, the Yankees have Greg Bird and Tyler Austin slated to compete for playing time in Teixeira’s absence.
Choi, 26 in May, spent the 2016 campaign in the Angels organization and struggled in his Major League debut, hitting .170/.271/.339 with five home runs in 129 plate appearances. He was designated for assignment when the Angels inked Ben Revere to a one-year contract. Rather than accepting his assignment, Choi opted to elect free agency.
Despite his lackluster bottom-line production in the Majors, Choi did walk in more than 12 percent of his plate appearances while showing respectable pop, and his 21 percent strikeout rate wasn’t outlandishly high. He’ll bring to the Yankees a lifetime .304/.399/.446 batting line and 13 home runs in 627 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. He may have a hard time beating out Bird and Austin, both of whom are already on the 40-man roster, but the Yankees could theoretically give Choi a bench job and send one of Bird or Austin to the minors to get everyday at-bats early in the season in the event that one of the two struggles in Spring Training.
Bird missed the entire 2016 season due to a shoulder injury that required surgery. Austin, meanwhile, batted .294/.392/.524 with 17 homers between Double-A and Triple-A before making his MLB debut last year. In 90 PAs with the Yankees, he hit .241/.300/.458 with five homers. Both players have minor league options remaining.
Low cost bench bat and can play when Bird needs a day off
He will probably only make the team if Bird is hurt which of course is always a possibility
Or if Bird performs as he did in the Arizona Fall League.
lol performance there meant next to nothing for him. It was just about getting reps and getting through it healthy
Holliday will be behind Bird so I see Choi being in AAA
Are Bird & Austin just a sample of what the Yanks have in their farm system? If it is, they are going to be VERY competitive for many years.
Am I sensing sarcasm?
This is an obvious depth move for the Yanks, they want Bird to play first and he will have Austin and Holliday to back him up.
this guy couldn’t even play on a weak angels team
Who had CJ Cron and Pujols as options at firstbase…
And nobody in LF, yet Choi still couldn’t stick.
Exactly…. This guy could not hit his way out of a wet paper bag.
choi cannot play left field. he was awful last year in left
and MARTE
He’s depth. Probably end up in AAA just in case. Depth pieces are needed by every team. He’s not a star but feels a necessary need.
The only thing he is going to feel is the hardness of a pine bench under his butt.
i can’t
If he “feels a necessary need” when the camera is on him, he could get in trouble…..
Check out his splits: 125 out of his 129 PAs are against RHP. So basically an insurance policy on Bird.
Don’t know who Ji-Man’s agent is but certainly he could have found his guy a better slot than this.
Well, this is (finally) the move I was hoping for. Wake me when pitchers and catchers start. Yankees are ready to romp.
OK…. I’m glad the angels got rid of this guy. He couldn’t even play LF for the angels last season, who didn’t have anynone to play LF. He takes this big ugly swing for the fences and the ball never seems to hit the bat. At least he went to my least favorite team.
Who wants 2 play for the angels weak team?? This are the Yankees! This guy had other opportunities from other teams and he decided to play for my yanks, is a different animal!! This is probably what he needs.
I’m a Yankees fan and I love you, but please don’t say my Yankees. Too many BigPapiforever flashbacks. = (
You meant grandpapi PED user!!!
Hahaha. You sir, live in fantasy land.
Every great yankee used peds lol
So…
Had 2 be a rays fan = total loser.. win at least 1 championship then you can probably get in 2 this conversation.
Maybe he doesn’t like the Yankees either and figured the best contribution he could make to MLB was to mess with you all.
And invest in a ‘Hooked on Phonics’ subscription ASAP. Please and thank you.
Ji-Man Choi doesn’t get rave reviews at 1B or the OF
Yeah, but their highly touted prospect D-Man Boi has received nothing but stellar reviews, especially with his power grading out as an 80 on an 80 scale. Most industry professionals are already proclaiming Boi’s skillset to be that of a true 5-tool ballplayer, reporting that Boi looks to be a man amongst boys in each and every facet of the game. Expect him to reach the majors by mid-to-late 2017.
G-Man!!! nice low risk move by the Yankees, this could be the sleeper move of this offseason. He’s only 25 years old, 6’1″ 230 lb and can play 1B and OF and never underestimate a left handed hitter at Yankee Stadium. great insurance policy for Bird (if he’s unhealthy or needs a little more reps in the minors to get his swing back from 2 years ago) and Hicks / Judge if they don’t step up this year (or if the Yankees are able to trade Gardner). numbers wise, he has a career minor league OPS of .896 which is HIGHER than both Austin (.828) and Bird (.878) and is an improvement over Mike Ford for organizational depth at 1B.