Super-agent Scott Boras believes that the rumored $100-million price tag for Reds outfielder and impending free agent Shin-Soo Choo is too low, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Shin-Soo Choo rumors: Scott Boras thinks $100MM price tag is low
Because of course he does.
More Cincy: Reds Lose Again. I Need A Drink.
Heyman writes that many have griped about the nine-figure estimate placed on Choo by an anonymous general manager last month, but Boras is the first to argue that it would be a gross underpay:
"As a custom of the industry, prognostications by executives this time of year are dramatically divergent from the real market," Boras said in a phone interview.
"I don't think anyone correctly predicted what Jayson Werth or Carl Crawford got."
Boras added that Choo's value in the leadoff spot is "immense," and that the last outfielder like him to hit the open market was not B.J. Upton ($75MM) or Michael Bourn ($48MM), but the aforementioned Werth, who nabbed a seven-year, $126-million deal with the Nats after the 2010 season.
Choo, 31, has been something of a revelation in the leadoff spot for the Reds this year. The South Korean slugger is batting .286/.424/.466 with 21 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 151 games this season. His 111 walks and .424 on-base percentage are the second-best marks in the senior circuit -- only behind teammate Joey Votto -- and his 25 hit-by-pitches leads everyone in the NL not named Starling Marte (23 HBPs) by a fair margin.
Choo is a shoo-in(!) to receive a one-year qualifying offer from the Reds, if nothing else, which could impact his price on the open market.
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