Texas Rangers would have interest if Shin-Soo Choo plays in 2021. He’d come cheap, too.
Shin-Soo Choo flew to Texas on Friday night so that he could watch his oldest son, Alan, play his first high baseball game Saturday.
Choo then hopped on a plane Sunday and made it back for the Texas Rangers’ first full-squad workout of spring training Monday.
It could be his last.
Choo is finally in the final year of this seven-year, $130 million contract. A robust $21 million will come of the books next off-season, and, in theory, funnel right into the player-acquisition pool.
As of Monday, Choo isn’t making any decisions about next season.
Alan isn’t getting any younger, neither is his younger brother or his younger sister, and they will be doing more things that Choo won’t want to miss. Choo, though, is still a productive MLB hitter as he approaches age 38, and knows it.
So, maybe he will be back next spring. Maybe he won’t.
It won’t take much of that $21 million to re-sign him.
Choo said that if he decides to play again, he hopes it’s with the Rangers and he won’t break their bank. He has made his fortune, and in the process made a baseball family.
“I’ll still keep talking to my family, my kids,” Choo said. “I know I have really big confidence that I can play the next couple or more years. Not just play. I can still play at a high level.”
Choo continues to be the Rangers’ best option at the top of the lineup, and no other candidates seem likely to unseat him even next season.
He has a .365 on-base percentage in six seasons with the Rangers, and in 2019 he posted his second highest OPS in those six seasons (.826). He is riding three straight 20-homer seasons, including a career-high 24 in 2019.
The trade of Nomar Mazara makes it more likely that Choo gets most of his games at designated hitter, though because of injuries he has played more games in the outfield than at DH in two of the past three seasons.
It’s the bat, though, that will keep him playing.
Manager Chris Woodward will advocate for Choo’s return because he embodies Woodward’s image of his kind of player — professional, hard-working, humble, hungry with terrific at-bats.
“I truly valued the person and what he can do and I still think there’s a lot there physically just based on the way you prepares himself,” Woodward said. “I actually expect him to have a very productive year, similar to last year and hopefully better, and I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t pursue bringing him back.”
That’s if Choo wants to keep playing.
Family tugs at him, as it did Adrian Beltre, and Choo said he badly misses not seeing all his kids’ games and events.
But he’s also passionate about his day job.
It won’t be an easy decision.
“I still love this game,” Choo said. “I’m still lucky to play at the major-league level, and then it’s very special, major-league uniform, wearing my number on it, my name on it on the back. That’s very special, very lucky. I still feel that way so we’ll see.”
This story was originally published February 17, 2020 at 5:11 PM.
