Ji-Man Choi Signs with Brewers

[Eye Black]

Per Sung Min Kim on Twitter...

 

@Sung_Minkim: 1B Ji-Man Choi has signed with the #Brewers for a deal that could accrue up to $1.5 million ($850,000 if he makes the ML roster + incentives), his agency announces. Was with the #Yankees org in 2017.

http://m.sports.naver.com/general/news/read.nhn?oid=109&aid=0003698372

 

EDIT: A couple more links...

 

Ji-Man Choi Baseball Reference Page

 

Brew Crew Ball Article

[MVP2110]

AAA 1b this year?

[homer]

I love Google translate:

 

"he was the first to receive a love call from thirteen teams"

[jerichoholicninja]

AAA 1b this year?

 

Unless Thames is traded that would give them two left handed hitting 1B only guys. So he has to be AAA depth.

[Eye Black]

I love Google translate:

 

"he was the first to receive a love call from thirteen teams"

A few other interesting tidbits using Google translate...

 

* ”There is also a bonus based on the at-bats to receive an annual salary of $ 850,000 (approx. 950 million won) when joining the major league roster. If you fill 200 at-bats, you get $ 200,000, and every time you add 100 at-bats, you get a bonus of $ 100,000. Up to $ 650,000.”

 

* “The most recent US agency 'GSM' said it had signed a deal with Milwaukee last month, but only after the medical test.”

 

* “The Milwaukee club has promised Choi Ji-sung that they will not get an additional first baseman.”

 

* “He will compete against Eric Thames and Jesús Aguilar in the major league spring camp starting mid-February for the first place of the Milwaukee Mainland.”

 

* “He will challenge not only the first base but also the left fielder. After discussing with the Milwaukee club, I decided to play as many left fielders as possible in spring training camp.”

 

It’s a minor league contract with a spring training camp invite. Also interesting from that article it mentions that at least one team (Rays) had offered a major league contract with a 40-man roster spot.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

While I'm always happy when we sign low risk minor league players, it seems odd that Ji-Man would choose the Brewers. While not superstars, Thames and Aguilar both had OPS > 800. You would think there were better opportunities for him.

[Mass Haas]

Choi can opt out of his Brewers deal at the end of spring training or on June 15, per this report.

 

"Right now, Aguilar is Choi's only competition, and Milwaukee has told us they won't acquire another 1B," Choi's agency said. "If Choi has a better spring than Aguilar, he'll have a shot at making the Opening Day roster."

 

Wait, they do know their client is a LH bat, right?

[ZBTMP]

Peculiar move. While it is easy to overanalyze a low risk move, there was at least some motivating factor. I guess we don’t offer much first base depth beyond the 2 on the MLB roster, and a launching pad in AAA. Though Id hope the organization looks to enhance the position flexibility of the current roster rather than looking to replacement level players outside the organization.

[clancyphile]

As AAA depth goes, a good move.

 

Choi has good OBP skills, but some trouble making contact (18 BB, 32 K in a small 127 AB MLB sample). Does have good power, though.

[JohnBriggs12]

Peculiar move. While it is easy to overanalyze a low risk move, there was at least some motivating factor. I guess we don’t offer much first base depth beyond the 2 on the MLB roster, and a launching pad in AAA. Though Id hope the organization looks to enhance the position flexibility of the current roster rather than looking to replacement level players outside the organization.

 

Possible motivating factors other than obvious depth move:

 

He can play LF and he's a LH hitter. The other two LH hitting OF have options. There's talk of dealing one or two OF. But Thames can play there too.

 

There's a deal afoot that possibly involves Thames. That's kind of a longshot but Thames comes with 2 years control at a very modest amount. I suspect there could be teams (KC comes to mind) asking about Thames and they want to give themselves that option. In that case Aguilar would take bulk of duties with soft platoon with Choi. It's also possible that Thames will be in demand at the deadline if the Brewers are out of it.

 

Most likely though, he's destined to be AAA first baseman and he gives them a legit guy in case Thames hits the DL at some point.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Choi is the new version of Cooper ... if he is playing MLB innings for the Brewers this year, I'll be surprised. Considering the team was signing retreads off the street to play 1B in Colorado, I'm sure that is the case. And it is almost a given that Choi is going to put up monster numbers in Colorado Springs, and have many Brewer fans begging for a call up at the first hint of a 2018 Thames slump.

[pacopete4]

Could also be an insurance plan if a team wants to include Thames in a deal.

[CheeseheadInQC]

The Brewers needed a couple of moves like this if for no other reason than, outside of the catcher spot, their AAA position player options are pretty scarce. While there are a few other guys such as Coulter or Allemand who could be pushed up to AAA, if Brinson and Phillips start the year in Milwaukee the core of their Colorado Springs position player group consists of Dubon, Orf and Wren. Even with Choi's signing, they still probably need to sign two outfielders and at least one infielder.

[jerichoholicninja]

I have no problem with signing Choi unless he was signed with the idea that he would be the 1B if one of or both of Thames and Aguilar is traded. Just put Perez there if that's the case.

[brewerfan82]

I have no problem with signing Choi unless he was signed with the idea that he would be the 1B if one of or both of Thames and Aguilar is traded. Just put Perez there if that's the case.

Perez has a career slash line of .257/.283/.388/.671 and has slashed the following the past two seasons:

 

2016 .272/.302/.428/.730

2017 .259/.289/.414/.704

 

He's a nice utility player, but I would definitely want another option than him to man first base if Thames and/or Aguilar are traded. Choi's slashed the following at triple A the past two seasons:

 

2016 .346/.434/.527/.960

2017 .288/.373/.538/.911

 

I'd definitely give him a shot before falling back on Perez at first.

[JohnBriggs12]

As AAA depth goes, a good move.

 

Choi has good OBP skills, but some trouble making contact (18 BB, 32 K in a small 127 AB MLB sample). Does have good power, though.

 

He didn't strike out much in the minors at all until last year and didn't hit a lot of HR either. His HR rate and K rate went up last year and that was likely by design. I think he's a pretty advanced hitter overall but he knows he's going to have to be a power threat to stick in the majors. He'll probably hit .340 with 25 HR in a full year at CS. If Thames has to go on the DL, I think he could give quality AB's.

[superfly]

Sounds to me like a sell high on Thames is afoot.

[Eye Black]

Saw this story from a couple of years ago dug up, Ji-Man Choi is the latest baseball player to be haunted by a ghost at Milwaukee's Pfister Hotel. Admittedly the headline is better than the actual story.

[JohnBriggs12]

I have no problem with signing Choi unless he was signed with the idea that he would be the 1B if one of or both of Thames and Aguilar is traded. Just put Perez there if that's the case.

Perez has a career slash line of .257/.283/.388/.671 and has slashed the following the past two seasons:

 

2016 .272/.302/.428/.730

2017 .259/.289/.414/.704

 

He's a nice utility player, but I would definitely want another option than him to man first base if Thames and/or Aguilar are traded. Choi's slashed the following at triple A the past two seasons:

 

2016 .346/.434/.527/.960

2017 .288/.373/.538/.911

 

I'd definitely give him a shot before falling back on Perez at first.

 

Perez slashed .339/.364/.484/.848 at AAA in 2016 and .373/.392/.503/.895 in VWL in 2016-17. So he's no slouch and if he ever settled on one position I think he'd surprise people and be a very good offensive player.

 

But your point is a good one. Choi has shown very good offensive skills in the minors and his major league league numbers are on a very small sample. He could still have a useful career similar to Adam Lind.

[MNBrew]

I think this is a very "meh" move and the only way Choi sees MLB time in MIL this year is if Thames or Aguilar is injured or traded/released. I'd guess injury replacement is the most likely scenario.

 

An AAA 1B was definitely a need, and I'd rather have some promise than a low-ceiling retread-type. That said, I'd still rather have Garrett Cooper back, but that ship already sailed.

[Eye Black]

While these are a few years old now, below are Ji-Man Choi’s Baseball America Prospect Handbook write-ups while in the Seattle system. The now 26-year old Choi ranked in the Mariners top 30 prospect lists in both 2014 and 2015 (#25 and #29 respectively)...

 

2014

Choi had a breakout season in 2013, starting at high Class A High Desert, making stops at Double-A Jackson and the Futures Game along the way. He ended the year at Triple-A Tacoma. All of that happened while he was making the conversion from catcher to first baseman, and he wound up being protected on the 40-man roster in November. Choi made a splash in 2010 when he was the MVP of the Rookie-level Arizona League, but his career stagnated until he became a full-time first baseman and also put together a better plan of attack in the batter’s box. Already possessing a good eye, Choi has become even more selective and instead of spraying line drives to the gaps at his best. Choi fits the second-division regular description and is in an organization that continues to chase power at first base.

 

2015

Choi always has been known as a hit-first player—he moved off catcher to first base in 2011–whose lack of power limits his chances of being an everyday big leaguer. So when hit with a 50-game suspension early in 2014 for using a performance-enhancing substance, he faced further skepticisim. Upon his return from his suspension, Choi didn’t really assuage that criticism by slugging .392. He is a pure hitter who can line the ball to all fields with a short, direct, lefthanded stroke, but he doesn’t have much natural loft in his swing. His best-case scenario is as a James Loney-type offensive first baseman, but as a fringe-average defender, he lacks Loney’s defensive value. The Mariners tried Choi in left field, but he’s not a viable option out there.

[MrTPlush]

Sounds to me like a sell high on Thames is afoot.

 

No, I highly doubt that. Unlikely we trade Thames and roll with Aguilar starting so still no way for him to make the roster as we would bring someone in to play 1B.

 

I’d say it is way more likely we would sell high on Aguilar much like we did with Jason Rogers this opening up a spot for Choi to compete for. I doubt that is going on either though.

 

This guy is banking on an injury to start the season nothing more.

[Roderick]

Sounds to me like a sell high on Thames is afoot.

 

No, I highly doubt that. Unlikely we trade Thames and roll with Aguilar starting so still no way for him to make the roster as we would bring someone in to play 1B.

 

I’d say it is way more likely we would sell high on Aguilar much like we did with Jason Rogers this opening up a spot for Choi to compete for. I doubt that is going on either though.

 

He is a lefty bat, I assume his splits reflect that. It isn't Aguilar that has to be gone, it would have to be Thames (injured/traded).

[Outlander]

I think that is reading too much into the move. Trading Thames to play Choi is a significant downgrade at the position.

[Roderick]

I think that is reading too much into the move. Trading Thames to play Choi is a significant downgrade at the position.

 

If you are replying to me, I did not advocate trading Thames to make room for Choi and I don't think anyone was.

 

But it was mentioned by someone that Aguilar would have to be gone for him to have a chance at the roster, and I think it would have to be Thames that would have to be moved for him to have a chance at the roster. Being a lefty bat.