The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Korean slugger Choi Ji-Man, 31, may be on his way out of the Platoon swamp.
“The Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to a trade,” MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, reported on Monday.
The deal involves Pittsburgh sending veteran first baseman Carlos Santana to Milwaukee and receiving shortstop prospect Yoenis Severino from Milwaukee. Severino is an international signing, joining Milwaukee in 2022.
Santana signed a one-year, $6.75 million free agent contract with Pittsburgh last November. This season, he is batting .235 with a .321 on-base percentage and .412 slugging percentage, along with 12 home runs and 53 RBIs.
Santana, who made his major league debut in 2010 with the Cleveland Indians (now the Cleveland Cavaliers), has been a consistent power producer, hitting double-digit home runs for nine straight years, starting with 27 in 2011 and finishing with 34 in 2019. Santana has 290 home runs and 978 RBIs with a .242 batting average, .357 on-base percentage, and .431 slugging percentage, and is on pace to reach 300 career home runs. 안전놀이터
Santana’s trade will likely mean more playing time for fellow outfielder Choi Ji-Man. Choi is batting .188 with a .209 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage this year with six home runs and 10 RBIs.
Traded to Pittsburgh from the Tampa Bay Rays prior to the season, Choi was sidelined with a left Achilles tendon injury early in the season before returning to action on Aug. 8 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and in 11 games since his return, he is batting .250 with a .286 on-base percentage and .656 slugging percentage with four home runs and eight RBIs. Most notably, he showed off his power on July 27 against the San Diego Padres, hitting his sixth home run of the season in a matchup of Korean majors against Kim Ha-seong.
Pittsburgh had a breakout start to the season, but now sits at the bottom of the National League Central with a 45-57 record. As a result, the team was expected to look ahead to next season ahead of the trade deadline. According to MLB.com, Pittsburgh is leaving the door open to trade talks, including starter Mitch Keller and closer David Bednar. It remains to be seen how many more trades Pittsburgh will make.