Shin-Soo Choo Return to Cincinnati Even Less Likely

Shin-Soo Choo even less likely to return to Queen City after agent and Reds GM meet.

Shin-Soo Choo (Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports)

Despite observing the list of rumored suitors heading in different directions, it is still highly unlikely Shin-Soo Choo will return to the Cincinnati Reds. This is according to a report from Mark Sheldon who covers the Reds for MLB.com. Sheldon notes that Choo’s agent, Scott Boras, and Reds GM Walt Jocketty met on Tuesday evening. The results of that meeting: no progress. No further meetings between Boras and Jocketty have been scheduled.

The word on the street was that Boras was seeking a deal in the neighborhood of what Carl Crawford received from the Boston Red Sox. Crawford inked a deal for seven years and $142MM. The Reds are not likely to not only dish out that kind of dough, but also sign Choo for seven years.

So how did Jocketty respond to this?

"“I think we have to move on,” Jocketty said. “I think that’s how we have to plan, anyhow. We have to plan as if we’re moving on.”"

Earlier today, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports had this…

Now the Reds are even more unlikely to go to eight years. I can’t see the Reds doing seven years.

One potential hold up to offering Choo the money has been the Reds inability to free up some payroll. General consensus held that if the Reds could move Brandon Phillips, the club could make a competitive offer. BP is still the Reds second baseman and Jocketty stated only a week ago that the team was not shopping Phillips.

Without those additional funds, the Reds have little to no wiggle room with their payroll. They currently have $83.4MM committed to payroll for next season. This doesn’t include those eligible for raises from the arbitration process which includes the likes of Homer Bailey and Mike Leake.