Texas Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo will have surgery to remove a bone spur in his left elbow and will miss the rest of the season, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Jeff Wilson.
Shin-Soo Choo out for season with bone spur in elbow
The Rangers outfielder has been battling the injury since spring and will now have surgery to fix the issue, ending his 2014 season.
Mike Ehrmann
Choo has reportedly been struggling with the injury since spring training, and the Rangers had decided to shut down the outfielder by early September, but instead chose to do so Monday.
The fact Choo has been playing with a bone spur in his elbow helps explain his disappointing 2014 season. After signing a seven-year, $130 million contract with the Rangers last winter, Choo has had his worst year at the plate in nearly a decade. The 32-year-old hit .242/.340/.374 with 13 home runs in 123 games for Texas, suffering a six percent increase in his strikeout rate and nearly five percent decrease in his walk rate from last season.
With the Reds in 2013, Choo batted .285/.423/.462 with 21 home runs and 57 extra-base hits over 154 games.
Per Wilson, the Rangers called up Michael Choice to take Choo's place on the roster. In 219 plate appearances, Choice has hit .177/.247/.318 this season.
Injuries have been a persistent theme for the Rangers in 2014, and a big reason why the club finds itself with baseball's worst record in the last week of August. Prior to the season, Texas lost left-hander Derek Holland to a knee injury, and their starting rotation endured further injuries when Martin Perez and Matt Harrison went down in May. Tanner Scheppers, Alexi Ogando, and most recently, Yu Darvish have all been sidelined since.
The Rangers' lineup hasn't fared much better, with Jurickson Profar, Prince Fielder, and Mitch Moreland all lost for the year. Fielder and Choo's injuries have been especially costly since both players are still owed tons of money through the rest of the decade. Fielder's contract will pay him $24 million annually through 2020, while Choo is set to make $15 million in 2015 before earning at least $20 million per year from 2016 through 2020.
Both contracts will handicap the Rangers financially as they seek to rebuild on a lost 2014 campaign, and with Yu Darvish under contract for three more seasons, you have to wonder if Texas will be able to hold on to its ace right-hander over the long-term.
The good news for the Rangers is that health is almost purely to blame for their frustrating season. The club still boasts plenty of talent up and down the roster. But with big money still owed to an aging core, along with the disappointing Elvis Andrus, GM Jon Daniels has little flexibility if he wants to improve the roster.
The decision to shut down Choo is just further evidence of how poorly this season has gone for the Rangers.
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