After years of being a baseball vagabond, Ji-Man Choi may have found a home with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Let us go back to June 10. On that day, the Tampa Bay Rays traded Brad Miller to the Milwaukee Brewers for Ji-Man Choi. It was a deal of spare parts, as Choi simply did not have a place with the Brewers, and the Rays had designated Miller for assignment a few days prior. With the Rays looking for first base depth, and the Brewers needed help in the middle of their infield, the deal made sense.
Miller lasted all of seven weeks with the Brewers before being released, as Milwaukee decided that playing a third baseman at second was preferable to having him in the lineup. In his 80 plate appearances, Miller had posted a disappointing .230/.288/.378 batting line. He did hit two homers and four doubles, but Miller also struck out 31 times, while playing his usually mediocre defense up the middle.
Meanwhile, Choi has performed well since making his Rays debut on July 11. Since then, he has posted a .282/.380/.513 batting line, hitting five homers and ten doubles in 183 plate appearances. He has annihilated right handed pitching this season, posting a .295/.382/.561 batting line, with all of his extra base hits, against righties.
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With the Rays coming down to their final weeks of the 2018 season, it is safe to say that Choi has made an impact. In his brief time on the team, he has been 0.9 bWAR, an impressive total for his playing time. Extrapolated over a full season, Choi would be approximately 3.5 bWAR, a starter level player that they acquired for seven weeks of Brad Miller.
Of course, there are questions as to how the Rays would be able to use Choi for the coming year. He is strictly a first baseman/designated hitter, and would not give the team the type of roster flexibility they desire. Production does outweigh that ability to play multiple positions however, as evidenced by Logan Morrison in the recent past.
This does not mean that Choi will have a major role with the Rays in 2019. He is not even a lock for the roster coming out of Spring Training, especially if Jake Bauers puts together another insane March. Nonetheless, he should be a solid depth option, ready if the Rays need another left handed power bat at the major league level.
Ji-Man Choi has played with four major league teams in the past three years. With his performance for the Tampa Bay Rays, he may have found himself a home.