Is Shin Soo Choo worth 18m per year for the Red Sox?

[Behindenemylines]

I think you have to look beyond next year for Bradley--his WAR figures to increase the next few years while Choo's may remain constant or decline.

 

Bradley is already a better defensive outfielder then Choo, and though not at Choo's level offensively now I think within a couple of seasons he will be on par with him. Pointless now as Choo signed with the Rangers today.

[jacksonianmarch]

So you see Bradley as a guy who can hit .300 with a .400+OBP who also is a 20-20 player? He never will be. I see Bradley as a guy who can get on base well, but he's not a power-SB player. Choo is decidedly better offensively and likely will be even after Bradley hits his prime

[Palodios]

So you see Bradley as a guy who can hit .300 with a .400+OBP who also is a 20-20 player? He never will be. I see Bradley as a guy who can get on base well, but he's not a power-SB player. Choo is decidedly better offensively and likely will be even after Bradley hits his prime

 

Choo is a .300 average 400 OBP guy with 20/20 skills, who is meh defensively.

Bradley has been a .270, .370 OBP with 15/15 skills in the minors... but may end up being exceptionally defensively in a key position.

 

It depends on how much you value defense, and if Bradley fills his potential. Choo will probably end up being better, but really, how many .400 OBP guys are even out there?

[jacksonianmarch]

I was purely talking about his offense, as behindenemylines noted, he thinks Bradley will be on par with him in a couple years.

[User Name]

It's possible he could reach those levels in his prime. He's certainly got the approach for it.

[SoxSport]

Nobody knows what JBJ's upside is. Even the Red Sox don't know. LOL

[User Name]

That's not funny. It's also stupid. Please stop.

[Navafan29]

Choo's going to Texas probably. Time to trade for Bryce Harper! Jk

[mvp 78]

Choo's going to Texas probably. Time to trade for Bryce Harper! Jk

 

Probably?

[Navafan29]

Yep, Choo went to the rangers for 7 years and 130 million

[SoxSport]

An interesting question for the Sox is who is going to replace Ells at leadoff? I think Farrell's first inclination would be Vic, or maybe a platoon of Vic and Pedroia. He is looking for speed and OBP at the top. You wonder how he views Nava, who has the batting eye but no speed and is a platoon player on this team.

 

The sleeper, of course, is Bradley. He is patient at the plate, and has speed. But the conventional wisdom says he bats 9th--at least in the beginning. He looked better at the plate in September callup. Even hit a couple of HRs over the BP in Fenway against LHP. I wonder if he'll see some leadoff ABs in ST. This team can afford to experiment a bit, coming off a championship season.

[BornToRun]

Victorino to start, JBJ if he proves he can hit ML pitching.

[SoxSport]

If Bradley works out, I suspect he will eventually bat leadoff before the season is out.

[Behindenemylines]

So you see Bradley as a guy who can hit .300 with a .400+OBP who also is a 20-20 player? He never will be. I see Bradley as a guy who can get on base well, but he's not a power-SB player. Choo is decidedly better offensively and likely will be even after Bradley hits his prime

 

Is he worth 7 years and 130 million? Much like Ellsbury, Choo is a very nice player, but I don't think he is worth what the Rangers are paying him. He does gain a little respect from me for telling the $pankees their $$$$$ is not good here. As I said before, Bradley is a plus defender and has a nice approach at the plate. He will probably never be a .400 OBP guy, but I think he has the potential to be a solid offensive player, and more importantly the Sox have him under control at reasonable $$$$ for a few years.

[SoxSport]

I saw an article this morning that made reference to Ellsbury as a "mercenary." Not a guy who has any team loyalty. I think that's an accurate description for any Boras client. When you go with Boras, that's a tip-off you want top dollar, and will sign with any team willing to give it. You can assume that was the case with Choo, and also Drew. The Drew bros. have always been after top dollar. Sometimes, however, as in Varitek's case, there are no takers, and you wind up back with your old team for a lesser contract. Boras wound up taking a discount last year on Bourne, who looks like a bargain now that Ells has signed for Yankee money. Similar players, though Ells has the Yankee stadium advantage. What will happen to Drew? Boras is still out there trying to get the max dollar for him. Hopefully he will succeed.

[User Name]

Yeah that's why Mark Teixeira and Jered Weaver took less money to sign/stay in places they wanted to be. Varitek re-signed with the Sox after 2004 for 4/40 but would have probably found more money/years elsewhere. I don't get this mercenary ********. Players have every right to cash in on their opportunity for a big payday, and none of us know exactly how these proceedings go or the players' preference (in general) for a particular team or situation. Please stop.

[rjortiz]

Is he worth 7 years and 130 million? Much like Ellsbury, Choo is a very nice player, but I don't think he is worth what the Rangers are paying him. He does gain a little respect from me for telling the $pankees their $$$$$ is not good here. As I said before, Bradley is a plus defender and has a nice approach at the plate. He will probably never be a .400 OBP guy, but I think he has the potential to be a solid offensive player, and more importantly the Sox have him under control at reasonable $$$$ for a few years.

 

He probably won't be worth it in the long term, but for the next few years he is. If he played RF last year, he probably would have been a 6 WAR player.

[reYoukilis]

I saw an article this morning that made reference to Ellsbury as a "mercenary." Not a guy who has any team loyalty. I think that's an accurate description for any Boras client. When you go with Boras, that's a tip-off you want top dollar, and will sign with any team willing to give it. You can assume that was the case with Choo, and also Drew. The Drew bros. have always been after top dollar. Sometimes, however, as in Varitek's case, there are no takers, and you wind up back with your old team for a lesser contract. Boras wound up taking a discount last year on Bourne, who looks like a bargain now that Ells has signed for Yankee money. Similar players, though Ells has the Yankee stadium advantage. What will happen to Drew? Boras is still out there trying to get the max dollar for him. Hopefully he will succeed.

How a person can go to the Yankees after having the chance to be immortalized in Boston is beyond me. Especially with Ellsbury signing so quickly. I mean I can understand not resigning with the Sox but he could have made good money in a number of places, places that wouldve won probably.

[Palodios]

I always find it sleazy when players fight over small percentages with their former team. If a team treated you well, and offers you somewhere remotely close to the highest offer, why not take your original team rather? The money is important, but 5-10% increase in salary is not worth destroying your legacy. With a guy like Ellsbury, the reports seem to claim that the Red Sox weren't going to offer him anything close to what he would make with the Yankees, so I can't fault him for that whatsoever... but he must know that he destroyed his reputation in Boston.

[rjortiz]

How a person can go to the Yankees after having the chance to be immortalized in Boston is beyond me. Especially with Ellsbury signing so quickly. I mean I can understand not resigning with the Sox but he could have made good money in a number of places, places that wouldve won probably.

 

$153 million dollars is almost impossible to turn down. Everybody who is criticizing Ellsbury for taking the Yankees offer couldn't even fathom being offered that much money. I don't blame him one bit for going to New York.

[mvp 78]

Yeah that's why Mark Teixeira and Jered Weaver took less money to sign/stay in places they wanted to be. Varitek re-signed with the Sox after 2004 for 4/40 but would have probably found more money/years elsewhere. I don't get this mercenary ********. Players have every right to cash in on their opportunity for a big payday, and none of us know exactly how these proceedings go or the players' preference (in general) for a particular team or situation. Please stop.

Pretty much. Why should a player show loyalty to a teamin the good times, when a team will dump his ass in the bad times. It's a business.

[User Name]

Pretty much. Why should a player show loyalty to a teamin the good times, when a team will dump his ass in the bad times. It's a business.

 

Yeah teams certainly don't show a lot of "loyalty" to their players when the going gets tough.

[BornToRun]

$153 million dollars is almost impossible to turn down. Everybody who is criticizing Ellsbury for taking the Yankees offer couldn't even fathom being offered that much money. I don't blame him one bit for going to New York.

 

I agree. I don't fault Jacoby at all for taking the money, I fault the f***ing Yankees for offering it. Douchebags.

 

Jacoby isn't the same as Benedict Damon. Damon said he could never see himself playing for the Yankees despite them offering top dollar. He lied.

 

Ells never made any such statements and it was made clear that he wanted to test the market so I don't blame him for taking the money.

[reYoukilis]

Yeah teams certainly don't show a lot of "loyalty" to their players when the going gets tough.

And of course the fans get zero consideration. They know we'll watch regardless.

[seabeachfred]

I agree. I don't fault Jacoby at all for taking the money, I fault the f***ing Yankees for offering it. Douchebags.

 

Jacoby isn't the same as Benedict Damon. Damon said he could never see himself playing for the Yankees despite them offering top dollar. He lied.

 

Ells never made any such statements and it was made clear that he wanted to test the market so I don't blame him for taking the money.

 

I think you made a very salient point BTR---the parallels between Demon and Ells go in much different directions. Ells made it clear he was going to test the market and I always had this sneaky suspicion that he was never really comfortable in Boston, that there were things about playing there that didn't sit well with him. He just didn't want to be part of the face of the team with Papi and Pedroia, and, personally, he might find New York better for his liking unless he starts getting hurt and doesn't perform. Then his ass with be grass and the press and fans with be his lawnmower. Still, it was worth it for him to go there and it might work out well in the end. Damon was a rotten lying bastard who said one thing and did exactly the opposite and why he is still despised in Boston and will never be welcomed back with any fanfare or affection of any kind. Then Damon turned out to be kind of a comic and pathetic figure, the Yankees dropping him and his going to Detroit and saying that's where he wanted to be and that was the team he wanted to play for only to reverse course with the Rays the very next year after the Tigers gave him the heave-ho and told fans and press that there is where he really wanted to be. Next the Guardians and by then he was a totally comic figure and now out of baseball, unmissed and unloved. I hope the Red Sox never invite him back for anything.

[Behindenemylines]

How a person can go to the Yankees after having the chance to be immortalized in Boston is beyond me. Especially with Ellsbury signing so quickly. I mean I can understand not resigning with the Sox but he could have made good money in a number of places, places that wouldve won probably.

 

Cano did the same to the $pankees. Cano could have probably become an all-time great with them, but having the opportunity to break the bank and be set for life is the way the modern players look at things. It is getting very rare where the top players stay in one place their whole career. Can't blame Ellsbury for taking the $$$$, but we don't have to like it.

[vjcsmoke]

I think Choo will be worth his 18.5m contract but likely only over the first 5 years. I expect drop-off in years 6/7.

 

I agree with the Red Sox decision not to go 7/130 for Choo.

 

So after all is said and done, I think we still need an RH platoon bat who can play CF and some RF in Fenway.

[SoxSport]

Any player who signs up with Boras is a "show me the money" type of player. The Red Sox have replacement kids, JBJ and X, at CF and SS, protected for 7 years. After that, Boras will get them big contracts elsewhere, and the Sox will have more kids to replace them. That's how you survive in baseball. Draft well.

[User Name]

Repeating the same incorrect idea over and over again does not make it correct. Not every player who latches on with Boras is looking for max dollars only, as presented above. Stop spouting nonsense.

[BornToRun]

Repeating the same incorrect idea over and over again does not make it correct. Not every player who latches on with Boras is looking for max dollars only, as presented above. Stop spouting nonsense.

Agreed, but I'd still feel a lot better if Xander and JBJ would ditch that *******. I'd love to lock them both up early if they prove they're worth it.