‘There’s no DH and Harper?’ Why Philadelphia aims for 38-year-old Choo Shin-soo [MLB 초점] -NO.1 Sports Media, Sports Korea

Shin-soo Choo visited Philadelphia’s home stadium in Cincinnati
[스포탈코리아] Reporter Kim Dong-yoon = News related to Choo Shin-soo (38, FA), who was finally silent, came from a wrong place shortly before the spring camp.

On February 4 (hereinafter Korean time), reporter John Hayman of the MLB Network delivered the news that “The Philadelphia Phillies had a conversation with Ma Win Gonzalez, Brad Miller and Choo Shin-soo to upgrade the candidate.”

At the end of the 2020 season, Choo Shin-soo, who signed a 7-year contract with the Texas Rangers, appeared in the second free agency market, but did not attract much attention. Although he may consider retiring or return to the KBO league, Shin-soo Choo is still known to be seeking a major league contract.

At the age of 38, Choo Shin-soo, who is passing through the twilight period of his career as a player, was injured in his right hand during a base last year and only played 33 out of 60. One of the reasons it was unpopular was the fact that it was classified as a designated hitter for the past three years and that it was regrettable against left-handed pitchers.

The recent refusal to introduce the National League’s nominated hitter system was a bad thing in the sense that the number of teams that would consider recruiting Choo Shin-soo cut in half. Amid such bad news, Hayman came from Philadelphia, the national league team.

It is only mentioned as one of several candidates, but the fact that the National League team’s attention has been received is positive in itself, as it still means that he viewed Shin-soo Cho’s outfield defense not badly.

Here the question arises. In the corner outfielder where Shin-soo Choo can play, Andrew McCutchin (34) and Bryce Harper (28) are sure to have their place. And they are followed by young players such as Roman Queen (27), Adam Hesley (24) and Mickey Moniac (22).

If Shinsu Choo has a competitive edge, it is his superiority against right-handed pitchers and the lack of competitive left-handed hitters in Philadelphia.

The only left-handed hitters in Philadelphia are right fielder Harper and shortstop Diddy Gregory (31). Considering that the two players, each of the core offensive and defensive players, will come out every game, there is virtually no left-hand hitter that Philadelphia will trust in the critical situation later in the game.

Although there are many young players, it is considered a regrettable aspect of Philadelphia that it is difficult to expect high expectations. Switch hitter Quinn has been given a chance over the past five years, but has failed with a career batting average of 0.235. Mickey Moniac, who received attention as the first round of the entire draft in 2016, fell short of expectations. He did not exceed 0.800 OPS for four years in the minor leagues, and barely debuted in the major leagues last year, but hitting only 0.214 in batting average.

The best of them is Hesley, who debuted in 2019, and has a career batting average of 0.269 for two years, which is likely in contact, but expectations are not high because it is difficult to exceed 40% slugging percentage.

On the other hand, over the past four years, Choo Shin-soo hit an average of 18 home runs, hitting a batting average of 0.262, an on-base ratio of 0.366, a slugging ratio of 0.435 and OPS of 0.801. It was still excellent against the right-handed pitcher.

Over the past four years, Choo Shin-soo has hit 62 homers with a batting average of 0.270, an on-base average of 0.376 and a slugging average of 0.473 OPS and 0.849. Choo Shin-soo’s OPS of 0.849 is the 59th record among all major league players against right-handed pitchers during the same period, and is significantly ahead of McCutchin’s OPS of 0.770 during the same period.

Last year was the worst season since 2016, but it was still not bad with an OPS of 0.781 against a right-handed pitcher. This is an excellent performance as a candidate, and Philadelphia seems to have been interested in Choo’s record even though all the candidate outfielders are left-handed hitters.

Choo Shin-soo’s age is not a big stumbling block if you look at Philadelphia’s recent moves.

Philadelphia aimed to win the World Series consistently after signing Harper as a free agent in 2019. However, over the past two years, the results were disappointing at 4th and 3rd in the district, and the sluggish results continued to make me spend big money.

So last winter, Jack Wheeler and Gregory were recruited, and this year, JT Real Muto remained. Philadelphia, which gave Harper $330 million in 13 years two years ago, three players: Wheeler ($118 million in five years), Gregory ($28 million in two years), and Real Muto ($115.5 million in five years). In recruitment, he spent the same amount as Harper.

Philadelphia, which has no backs, needs a candidate who will deliver solid results even if he is older than the growth of prospects.

At the end of the 2020 season, Choo Shin-soo hoped that his last major league season would not be the 60-game season stained with injury. We look forward to seeing if we can find a new team and finish beautifully in a normal environment as Choo Shin-soo wishes.

Photo = Getty Image Korea