Rangers' Choo Shin-soo mired in lost season with injury, decline in production

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- Nearly halfway through the truncated, 60-game season in Major League Baseball (MLB), Texas Rangers' outfielder/designated hitter Choo Shin-soo is becoming a forgotten man.

Nursing a calf injury, the South Korean veteran hasn't played since last Wednesday. In 21 of the Rangers' 28 games so far, 18 as the leadoff man, Choo is batting a meager .211/.296/.366, with three home runs, 10 RBIs and three steals in what's shaping up to be a lost season. He could be back in the lineup in the next couple of days.

The 38-year-old is in the final year of his seven-year, US$130 million contract with the Rangers. Amid rumors that he could be traded to a contending club before the Aug. 31 deadline, Choo is clearly not helping his own trade value.

Choo, who debuted with the Seattle Mariners in 2005, was traded to the Cleveland Indians in 2006. He was dealt for the second time in his career in 2012, going from the Indians to the Cincinnati Reds in a three-team deal.

By launching a career-high 24 home runs and stealing 15 bags in 2019, Choo proved that he can be a productive contributor on offense -- when healthy. He is an experienced left-handed hitter with some pop and a history of strong plate discipline. The universal designated hitter is in place for this season, and National League (NL) clubs that might have been reluctant to pursue Choo in the past because of his defensive shortcomings would be more willing to take a flier on him at the right price this year.

Health is a concern for Choo in 2020, a year after he played in 151 of 162 games.

Choo's counting stats will obviously suffer. The uncharacteristically low on-base percentage is also a concern -- he has never posted an on-base percentage of below .300 in any full season -- because reaching base, working pitchers deep into counts and setting the tone near the top of the order is how Choo's bread is buttered.

This is one season in which the "small sample size" disclaimer doesn't apply to the same degree as before. Choo's 21 games to date represent 35 percent of the season. In a normal, 162-game schedule, that is the equivalent of about 57 games.

Among other numbers for Choo this year, his walk rate, or walks divided by plate appearances, is at a career-low 9.9 percent. Choo's batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is also the lowest of his career at .245, well below the MLB average of .287. This appears to suggest Choo has been exceedingly unlucky with his batted balls and his BABIP is bound to move closer to the big league average.

On the other hand, other data portray a declining batter who isn't hitting the ball as hard or well as he once did.

According to MLB's StatCast, Choo's hard hit rate, the percentage of batted balls with an exit velocity of at least 95 mph, sits at 32.7 percent. It's his lowest since the rate first became available in 2015. Choo's average exit velocity of 89.2 mph is his second lowest in the StatCast era.

Choo is not driving the ball with the same authority as before, attested by his career-low 19.6 percent line drive rate, according to FanGraphs. He's hitting infield flies 5.9 percent of the time, the highest such rate since 2008 and a marked jump from 1.7 percent from 2019.

According to Baseball Info Solutions, Choo's contact rate, the percentage of contact made when a batter swings, sits at a career-worst 69.8 percent, compared with the MLB average of 75.2 percent.

And his zone contact rate, the percent of times a batter makes contact when swinging at pitches in the strike zone, is 75.6 percent, the lowest of his career. The MLB average is 84.3 percent.

The Rangers had lost eight in a row before beating the Oakland Athletics 3-2 at home Monday (local time). At 11-17, the Rangers likely won't make the postseason, even with the format expanded for this year to include eight teams per league.

Though team officials have said they're not about to tear down the team and start rebuilding, dealing away veterans for prospects with an eye toward the future may be a prudent step to take.

Choo will become a free agent after this season, which means he will be considered a short-term rental for a club that acquires him at the deadline. Given his age and lack of production this year, and also considering economic uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems unlikely there would be a bidding war for Choo's services in the open market this winter.

Choo has trade veto rights called "10-and-5," awarded to veterans who have earned 10 years of major league service time and have spent the past five straight years with the same club. These players can veto any trade.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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