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Shin-Soo Choo is going to be one of the more underrated free agents on the market this offseason, but that doesn’t mean teams won’t be lining up for his services.

Rumors have already swirled about the Chicago Cubs pursuing Choo in the offseason, according to CSNChicago.com’s Patrick Mooney. Now, the New York Mets are reportedly eyeing Choo this offseason, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.

A second Mets source said that the team liked Choo—this is no state secret, as the Cincinnati outfielder has a .425 on-base percentage this year (.389 career), with 20 home runs—but are not interested in engaging in a crazy bidding war for the 31-year-old Scott Boras client. Basically, the Mets really like the player, but are comfortable turning elsewhere if the market outpaces what they expect (this is an unsurprising public position).

With that said, would Choo be a smart signing for the Mets rebuild or would it just be a waste of money?

Will the Mets Compete?

The biggest question the Mets front office has to answer is whether they will be competing for the playoffs or not.

A lot of factors go into this, but the biggest one is the status of ace Matt Harvey.

Harvey has a visit to Dr. James Andrews scheduled for Monday to seek a second opinion on his right elbow, according to ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. Although he hopes to avoid undergoing Tommy John surgery, the fact remains that it’s still an option.

If it is, then that will seriously hinder the team’s ability to compete.

Nothing against Zack Wheeler, but he won’t be able to carry the pitching staff by himself. The Mets would have already been in a precarious position with Wheeler and Harvey at the top of the rotation. Now you take one out and it becomes even more troublesome. 

Had all of this been happening after the 2014 season, there would be a little more confidence with Noah Syndergaard coming up to the big leagues.

So if that’s the case when it comes to the rotation, is it worth it for the Mets to pursue Choo knowing they might not have the chance to compete for another year or two?

Waiting in the Minors

Another fact the Mets have to consider is what they have waiting in the minors for the outfield.

Currently, the starting outfield at the big league level comprises of Eric Young Jr., Juan Lagares and Andrew Brown. Of those three, Lagares is the only legitimate long-term starter.

Other than that, the minor leagues have a lot of lower-level talent in the outfield with Cesar Puello being the only one that could make a contribution next year.

So the cupboard’s bare there as well.

But what about free agency outside of Choo?

The Rest of the Lineup

Heading into next year, the only players you can pencil in are Daniel Murphy at second, David Wright at third, Lagares in center, Lucas Duda at first or left field and Travis d’Arnaud at catcher.

Outside of that, there are some major question marks.

The biggest one concerns Ike Davis and if he can get things going again. After being demoted to Triple-A and called back up in early July, Davis has batted .267 with four home runs and 17 RBI. That’s decent in terms of batting average, but he’s lost all of his power numbers.

So his situation will be interesting to watch. If he can show he can play consistently once again, Duda goes to left field and that’s one less position you have to worry about.

However, if that doesn’t happen, then you have two outfield positions to fill with nobody ready to take them in a full-time role in the minors. That leaves free agency where Choo would come in.

The Mets could sign an aging veteran or two to a one-year contract and hope the 2015 crop of free agents is better.

Shortstop is another concern as Omar Quintanilla is not the long-term answer there as evident by his .222 career batting average.

Verdict

While having Choo would be nice in the outfield (and in the leadoff spot), there’s no way the Mets are going to compete next year.

I don’t see how it would be a smart signing, especially if Choo‘s price gets driven up by his agent, Scott Boras.

There is no short-term fix for the Mets with the state of their minor leagues. They have a lot to build around in Harvey, Wheeler, Syndergaard, Wright, Lagares and d’Arnaud. But after that, there’s a huge drop off in talent throughout the organization.

The Mets have to work on their farm system to ensure they can compete for many years to come. If they don’t and sign a big free agent or two each offseason, they’ll continue to stay at home come October.

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The 2013 MLB season hasn’t gone the way the Cincinnati Reds had hoped, but there are still many reasons for fans to watch the team in September.

Cincinnati is in position to make the postseason for the third time in four seasons. Whether it wins the division or snags a Wild Card has yet to be determined.

Manager Dusty Baker saw his team get hot after key players returned from the disabled list in August, but the Reds are running out of time to put together a big winning streak.

With one month to play, the Reds will be one of the most exciting teams to watch down the stretch.

Here’s a list of what to watch for in September. 

*All information is courtesy of baseball-reference.com

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Yesterday’s news that the Cubs will likely pursue free agent-to-be outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, which was reported by Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago, shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. After trading away Alfonso Soriano and David DeJesus in the last month, the Cubs’ projected outfield heading into the offseason includes Nate Schierholtz, Brian Bogusevic and Junior Lake.

That trio is actually having a strong season, although the success of Bogusevic and Lake is in a very small sample size. But Schierholtz still isn’t viewed as an everyday player and neither are the 29-year-old Bogusevic, who had a .596 OPS with regular playing time in Houston last season, or Lake, who was an infielder before being moved to the outfield to increase his versatility this season .

Another losing season in Year 3 of the Theo Epstein regime won’t be taken very kindly by even the most patient and understanding Cubs fans. If they were to enter 2014 without making any outfield upgrades, they’d probably deserve the backlash that would occur if they were non-contenders once again.

Here are four good reasons why signing Choo to a projected four-year deal that would likely pay between $56-$64 million would make a whole lot of sense.

Young Talent Is On the Way … In 2015

While the win-loss record isn’t impressive since Epstein was hired as team president prior to the 2012 season (115-174), the farm system sure has improved. Outfielder Jorge Soler, who was signed out of Cuba last June, and the team’s last two No. 1 draft picks, third baseman Kris Bryant (second pick overall in 2013) and outfielder Albert Almora (sixth pick overall in 2012), join 2011 first-rounder Javier Baez (pictured) as elite prospects that are considered to be amongst the best in baseball. 

Several other minor leaguers who could help in the near future have also been acquired in trades since Epstein’s hire, including pitchers Jake Arrieta, C.J. Edwards, Justin Grimm, Kyle Hendricks, Neil Ramirez and Arodys Vizcaino. 

This is certainly great news for the team’s future. Cubs fans have reason to be excited and satisfied with the job that Epstein and company have done thus far. Just don’t expect this crop of talent to make a major impact on the big league team earlier than 2015.

So, then, what about 2014? 

Well, that’s where Choo fits in. If they are to start adding hitters that will be in the mix for the next several seasons, that hitter will need to be an ideal fit on and off the field without handcuffing the team because of an outrageous salary well past their prime. 

Signing Choo, whose consistent production from year to year over the past six seasons makes him a very safe investment, to a deal for his ages 31-34 seasons seems like a logical move. Not only does it help the Cubs in 2014 and beyond, it does not appear that he’d be taking up a spot reserved for a top prospect when they begin to arrive in the majors for good sometime around 2015 and 2016. 

Two Birds With One Stone

With DeJesus out of the picture, the Cubs will be in search of an outfielder and a leadoff hitter in the offseason. The 31-year-old Choo is an outfielder who just happens to be one of the best leadoff hitters in the majors this season. 

The Cubs lineup has gotten solid production out of the leadoff spot from a pair of hitters, Lake and Luis Valbuena, in a small sample size. Their track records, however, indicate that the Cubs would be crazy to expect them to keep it up over a full season.

Lake, who is 15-for-37 as the leadoff hitter during his brief major league stint, has a career .322 on-base percentage in the minor leagues and has just seven walks and 32 strikeouts in 34 big league games. Valbuena, despite posting a .330 on-base percentage in 22 games out of the leadoff spot this season, has a career .301 on-base percentage in 408 big league games.   Without accounting for any other roster moves that could happen aside from Choo, it could be said that he’d be the team’s best No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 hitter as well. His versatility in the lineup and in the outfield—he‘s a below -average center fielder, but he’s handled the position adequately in Cincinnati this season—would allow the team to keep its options open throughout its other offseason pursuits. 

.301 OBP

Choo‘s .416 on-base percentage might be as good as it gets during his career. But it’s no fluke. He had a career .381 on-base percentage coming into the season and he’s stepped it up a notch in a season when he knew he’d be hitting leadoff regularly. Need more proof? Choo has a .385 on-base percentage in 714 career minor league games. He knows how to get on base.

Need proof that the Cubs are hurting for hitters with an ability to get on base? Their team on-base percentage of .301 is the third worst in baseball. Losing DeJesus, who had a .330 on-base percentage, doesn’t help.

With younger core players like Starlin Castro (pictured) and Anthony Rizzo on the current team and so many others on the way—Baez, in particular, could have trouble with plate discipline if his 38 walks and 134 strikeouts are any indication—having one of the best in the business at getting on base as a daily example can only be a bonus. 

High Korean Population

Filling the seats at Wrigley Field shouldn’t be too difficult. Because it’s Wrigley Field! But attendance has dropped in five consecutive seasons from over 40,000 per game in 2008 to just over 33,000 per game this season, according to ESPN. Even if Cubs fans do understand that the rebuilding process needed to take place and fixing their team wasn’t going to happen overnight, it doesn’t mean they were going to come watch the product on the field as often.

Playing winning baseball and hosting meaningful games in August and September would be the best cure to the attendance drop-off. But having an everyday player for one of the largest Korean populations in the nation to cheer for certainly can’t hurt . Especially when that Korean player is one as productive as Choo. 

The Korean Beacon listed Chicago as the third-most Korean-American city a couple years ago, citing a budding number of Korean-owned businesses and a steady influx of Korean immigrants. This could be a major selling point in getting Choo to sign with the Cubs. And by bringing in Choo, a former MVP of the 2000 World Junior Baseball Championship won by South Korea, interest in Chicago Cubs baseball could increase in the community. 

It won’t have as much of an impact as having a winning ballclub would. But, fortunately, the talented Choo would play a part in both. 

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The Cincinnati Reds lost a few players to the World Baseball Classic, but some of the remaining have been on fire while others can’t wait for spring to end.

Cincinnati came into the spring as the favorites to win the NL Central, and the team doesn’t have many available spots left on the 25-man roster. 

With that said, the few position battles going on have been put under the microscope. The backup catcher spot is starting to work itself out, but the battle for the utility role has only brought out the best in each candidate.

The Reds had a couple of games get rained out, but they did get to go up against Canada last week.

Less than three weeks remain until Opening Day, so let’s check out who is hot and who is not.

*All stats are courtesy of Reds.com

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The Cincinnati Reds won the National League Central in 2012, but the team still has some weaknesses entering the 2013 season.

Coming into this offseason, the leadoff and cleanup spots were the biggest issues with this team. General manager Walt Jocketty re-signed left fielder Ryan Ludwick to fill the No. 4 hole and traded for Shin-Soo Choo to insert at the top of the lineup.

After dealing with two major issues, the Reds still have minor weaknesses they will need to overcome next season.

Moving Aroldis Chapman to the rotation weakens the bullpen and will make it tougher for the team to shut teams down in late innings. Jose Arredondo and Sam LeCure will now face bigger roles, so it may be a struggle at first.

However, the team faces bigger weaknesses than middle relief.

Production from catchers

Behind the plate, Cincinnati had a great defensive combination. Ryan Hanigan is as good as it gets on defense, rookie Devin Mesoraco showed great ability behind the plate and Dioner Navarro did a good job when called upon.

Part of the problem with this lineup was the lack of production on offense from the catchers.

Hitting in the No. 8 spot, Hanigan had a .365 on-base percentage. That’s a great sign, but he took a step back in 2012 despite playing a career-high 112 games. 

The 32-year-old hit at least five home runs with at least 31 RBI in the previous two seasons but managed only two long balls and 24 RBI. He hit only .242 with runners in scoring position, which was over 30 points lower than what he did in 2011.

Mesoraco showed some pop by hitting five home runs, but he only drove in 14 runs. His .212 average kept him off the postseason roster.

Like Hanigan, the rookie struggled in clutch situations. Mesoraco hit only .111 with runners in scoring position in his first season, and four of his five home runs were solo shots.

Navarro hit two home runs with 12 RBI in limited action. He is now with the Chicago Cubs, so Hanigan and Mesoraco will need to step up on offense next season. 

Catchers combined stats: .256 average, 9 HR, 50 RBI (one of the worst stat lines in baseball, according to MLB.com).

There will plenty of chances to drive in runs in 2013, so the production needs to be better.

Outfield defense

Trading former center fielder Drew Stubbs helped upgrade the offense, but the outfield defense is now a major question mark.

Stubbs was a Gold Glove finalist last season. He had a good arm and could get to just about any ball hit near him. He made life easier for Ludwick and right fielder Jay Bruce, who was also a Gold Glove finalist.

Great American Ball Park does have a huge outfield, but the defense will also be tested in road games. 

Choo was not a great defender in right field, so moving him to center will be an adventure. Like Bruce, he has a great arm. However, he is nowhere close to the defender Stubbs was. The team could move Bruce to center for a season until prospect Billy Hamilton gets to the majors, but it doesn’t make sense to mess with a Gold Glove finalist in right field.  

Ludwick is a solid defender, but there will be a lot more extra-base hits falling in the left-center gap without Drew Stubbs next season. 

Chris Heisey has the ability to play great defense in center, so he gives the team options if anyone struggles on offense or gets hurt.

Speed in the outfield shouldn’t be overlooked. Stubbs saved pitchers many runs by tracking down fly balls and keeping balls from dropping in for hits. The corner outfielders will now have to chase down more balls, and it will be interesting to see how Choo adjusts to center field next season.

Conclusion

Cincinnati addressed the team’s biggest needs, so their weaknesses may not keep the team from returning to the postseason.

The club won 97 games with very little offensive production from its catchers. Outfield defense will be exposed in big ballparks, but it can be overcome by a more productive offense.

Look for a better season out of the catchers. If the Reds can get a more consistent offense in 2013, these weaknesses will not keep them from returning to the postseason.

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The Cincinnati Reds are looking to win the National League Central and make a deep playoff run in 2013, so it’s time to evaluate the team’s offseason moves.

For the second straight offseason, the team stayed put at the winter meetings. Just like last year, the Reds made some major moves after the meetings wrapped up.

Aroldis Chapman will try to move from closer to the rotation, but that move won’t be evaluated because of his impact as closer. However, it could end up being the biggest decision of the offseason.

Cincinnati had three glaring needs entering the offseason: leadoff man, center fielder/left fielder and adding to the bench. A reliever was also part of the list, but the team had bigger needs to fill.

It’s unclear if third baseman Scott Rolen will return or retire, but it would be a good addition if he accepted a bench role. He’s a clubhouse leader and is still a great defender. Having him mentor Frazier can only help the team. It would rank among the best moves of the offseason if he returns.

Most of the roster stays intact, so the Reds are in great position to make a playoff run in 2013. The offseason moves should only enhance the team’s chances next season.

So what was the most important move of the offseason?

Feel free to make an argument for any moves that should be swapped. 

*Stats are from ESPN.com

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During MLB‘s winter meetings last week (Dec. 3-6), rumors of a three- or four-team trade buzzed throughout the Opryland complex. But no deal was consummated. 

Since baseball’s annual December pow-wow ended, however, we’ve seen plenty of action on the free-agent and trade markets. That continued with a three-way deal between the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks featuring outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, pitcher Trevor Bauer and shortstop Didi Gregorius. 

With the multi-team trade, the Reds now have a leadoff hitter (and possibly a center fielder), the Indians have a potential ace starting pitcher and the D-Backs got the shortstop that has taken nearly five months to find.

But which team came out as a winner from this deal and who looks like a loser?

The argument could be made that all three teams did well in this trade, but upon a closer look, that may not quite be the case. Also, which team not involved in the three-way action ended up losing the day? Here’s how we see it. 

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According to Yahoo! Sports, the Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamondbacks finally finished a three-team deal, but it wasn’t with the Rangers and didn’t involve Justin Upton or Asdrubal Cabrera. 

Instead, the two teamed up with the Cincinnati Reds in a deal centered around around Shin-Soo Choo.

In all, there are nine players moving. Each team’s haul follows with the sending team in parentheses: 

Reds: Shin-Soo Choo (Indians), Jason Donald (Indians)

Indians: Trevor Bauer (Diamondbacks), Drew Stubbs (Reds), Bryan Shaw (Diamondbacks), Matt Albers (Diamondbacks)

Diamondbacks: Didi Gregorius (Reds), Tony Sipp (Indians), Lars Anderson (Indians)

There are two really interesting parts to this. The first is Choo with the Reds. Cincinnati is now without a true center fielder, but the offensive help is probably more than enough to make up for it. Reds leadoff hitters had an abysmal .208/.254/.327 triple slash last year.

Choo, entering his age-30 season, had a slash line of .283/.373/.441 last season and has had a line as good as .300/.401/.484 in the past (as recently as 2010, too). This is a huge upgrade for them. Even though Choo is a free agent after this year, it’s more than made up for by the fact that the Reds didn’t even surrender the best prospect in the deal.

The Indians, I would say, also won. Granted, they don’t get the certainty of Choo for 2012, but he was leaving next year, while Bauer gives them the better opportunity to win going forward. The starter just finished his age-21 season, and while his first four starts weren’t ideal, there’s a lot of hope for the future.

The 2011 No. 3 pick threw 130.1 innings in AA and AAA last year and picked up 157 strikeouts while allowing a 2.42 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Keith Law listed him as the No. 21 best prospect before 2012 and has been projected as an ace. He may be ready to start this season and provides Cleveland with a lot of upside.

The Diamondbacks are the only team that confuses me. Yes, they had a pitching surplus. But most teams were still very high on Bauer’s potential. For someone who was rated so highly, this is a weak looking return.

Gregorius is a strong-fielding shortstop who can’t hit; his minor league career has seen him have a slash line of .271/.323/.376. Yes, he’s only 22, but minor league OBPs below .330 are not anything to get excited about.

Sipp is a 29-year old reliever who hasn’t shown himself to be extraordinarily dominant. Anderson is a former well regarded prospect who’s now 25 and only has 56 plate appearances in the majors. In AAA last year, he had a line of .250/.353/.396, which wouldn’t be bad if he played up the middle.

Instead, he’s a first baseman. Maybe he can put it all together, but he won’t be getting a shot in Arizona with Paul Goldschmidt there now. None of those players looks good enough to justify giving up a prospect like Trevor Bauer. 

As for the other four other players other than Choo that are headed to the two Ohio teams, most are closer to spare parts. Matt Albers is a 29-year-old reliever with a career 94 ERA+. Shaw is a 25-year-old reliever with fewer than 90 innings in the majors. He’s carried a 129 ERA+ so far, and he looks most likely to be a decent middle reliever if nothing else. Donald is a below-average hitting utility man. 

Stubbs is the only other player with any sort of serious value, and that’s more of a possibility than a certainty.

His batting average on balls in play was a career low last year (.290), and if it bounces back up to his career .323 mark, he’ll provide league average offense and a solid glove in center field, making him slightly above starter level. He’s 28, so he’s still fairly young, but he’s probably more of a useful part than an all-star.

So, the long and short of it: The Reds made a smart all-in move to compete next year. The Indians got a great prospect to maximize their possible future winning, and the Diamondbacks got involved for reasons that are not clear to me.

This article is also featured at Hot Corner Harbor.

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The Cincinnati Reds‘ offense would have been fine next season without any new additions, but it got even better Tuesday night.

CBS’ Jon Heyman announced the three-way trade that had baseball fans turning their heads:

indians receive bauer, albers, shaw and stubbs. reds get choo and donald. dbacks get gregorius, sipp and lars anderson.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 12, 2012

Out of all those names, Choo‘s stands out the most. He’s one of the league’s most underrated players, but his talents were mostly wasted on an unsuccessful Cleveland squad.

Last season, Choo hit .283 with 16 home runs and 67 RBI. He also stole 21 bases.

When you look at who he is replacing in Drew Stubbs, it’s obvious how much he will upgrade the Reds’ offense. Stubbs‘ .277 on-base percentage is almost 100-points lower than Choo‘s, which should make everyone hopeful that the Reds will have more runners on base when their power hitters come to the plate.

Defensively, it’s uncertain how Choo will adjust to playing center field, but he has been a very successful right fielder, so the potential is there. 

Stubbs was a nightmare at the top of the order. He boasted a ton of speed and athleticism, but he was never consistent at the plate. When your supposed table setter can’t get on base, that kills an offense before it even gets started.

Choo isn’t a superstar, but he’s a very solid player. He has power, even if it is a little less than Stubbs‘, and he’s a better contact hitter. For a team that has more than enough power to go around, this move makes sense.

Reds fans were always left waiting for Stubbs to realize his upside, but it never happened. Choo already has. He’s only under contract through the end of this season, so his future is uncertain, but he will make the team better overall next year. 

The only possible hang up could be his ability to transition on defense, but one thing is for sure. He’s going to get on base and facilitate a Reds lineup that has more than enough bats to bring him home.

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According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Reds have officially acquired Shin-Soo Choo. The deal looks to have involved the Reds, Diamondbacks and Indians:

choo goes to #reds. done deal.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 11, 2012

It seems as though the Diamondbacks really liked Reds prospect Didi Gregorius, as opposed to the Indians’ Asdrubal Cabrera:

#dbacks like didi gregorius, who’d be under their control for 6 yrs (as opposed to 2 for asdrubal). #3way

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 11, 2012

The trade seems to make complete sense for the Reds, who have been in search of a leadoff hitter since the last pitch of their season was thrown. Leadoff was an obvious issue for the Reds during their 2012 NL Central title run.

Despite a team .254 on-base percentage, the Reds were able to produce enough runs to win 97 games. They can thank their team ERA of 3.34 for that. Choo brings a career .289 batting average and .381 on-base percentage to the top of the Reds order. This is undoubtedly an improvement over the team numbers from 2012.

In the process, the Reds lose a major asset on defense. Drew Stubbs may not have produced much at the plate, but Reds pitchers were often grateful that he was manning center field.

Keep a look out for more details as they come in:

#reds also get jason donald in choo deal. working on rest. theres a lot more.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 11, 2012

There seems to be much more to follow.

Update: The official deal is as follows, according to Zack Meisel of MLB.com:

“…the Tribe traded the right fielder to the Reds in a three-team, nine-player exchange that sent outfielder Drew Stubbs and pitcher Trevor Bauer to Cleveland and shortstop Didi Gregorius to Arizona.

“The Indians also receive relievers Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw from the D-backs. Cleveland sent Choo, infielder Jason Donald and cash to the Reds and southpaw reliever Tony Sipp and first baseman Lars Anderson to Arizona.”

Be sure to chime in with your thoughts on the deal. Does this solve the Reds’ problems at the top of the batting order? 

Follow @JRamCincy

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