I found the first baseman with the high on-base rate I wanted, but traded away the effect of killing two birds with one stone?

By recruiting Choi Ji-man, the Pittsburgh 먹튀검증 Pirates found a first baseman with a high on-base rate.”

The American media ‘Pittsburgh Baseball Now’ mentioned the effect of Pittsburgh’s recruitment of Choi Ji-man on the 2nd (Korean time). The media said, “Pittsburgh has been looking for a first baseman and wanted to increase the team’s on-base rate,” and predicted that Pittsburgh’s power would improve with the recruitment of Choi Ji-man.

Choi Ji-man left the Tampa Bay Rays through a trade in the last Stove League and joined Pittsburgh. Tampa Bay gave away only Choi, who will qualify for free agency next year, and secured a promising player, while Pittsburgh got a first baseman. A deal was concluded in which the interests of both teams were perfectly aligned.

In 113 games last season, Choi Ji-man recorded 83 hits in 356 at-bats, 11 homers, 52 RBIs, a batting average of 0.233, an on-base percentage of 0.341, a slugging percentage of 0.388, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.729. He played first base for Tampa Bay throughout the season, although an elbow injury prevented him from performing better.

Pittsburgh also wanted Choi Ji-man. In fact, there was no first baseman in Pittsburgh. In the 2022 season, 10 players wore first base mitts, but they did not produce satisfactory results. The 10 first basemen had 17 homers, a batting average of 0.206, and an OPS of 0.601.

In addition, Choi Ji-man, who boasts outstanding defensive power. The media also mentioned, “Choi Ji-man is expected to play a solid defense. According to Baseball Savant, Choi Ji-man recorded a fielding ratio of 0.994 as a first baseman in the big leagues.”

However, local media are raising trade rumors. It is expected that Pittsburgh, which is collecting promising players, will trade Choi Ji-man, who is eligible for free agency, at the end of this season.

Once Choi Ji-man plays for Pittsburgh, he can enjoy the effect of killing two birds with one stone. Attention is focusing on whether Choi Ji-man will be able to join as a member of the pirate corps.