The Milwaukee Brewers already have a pair of first basemen on their big league roster, Eric Thames and Jesus Aguilar. Now, they’ve added another, signing South Korean slugger Ji-Man Choi to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league spring training.
The 26-year-old Choi played most of last season with the New York Yankees’ Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre club, batting .288 with 15 home runs and 69 RBI in 87 games. He also played in six games with the Yankees, hitting .267 with two homers and five RBI. One of the two long balls came off of Brewers pitcher Junior Guerra at Yankee Stadium.
Choi also had a 54-game stint with the Los Angeles Angels in 2016 but hit just .170 in 54 games with five home runs.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Choi could opt out of the deal at the end of spring camp if he doesn’t make the Brewers’ roster. If he accepts a minor-league assignment, there is another opt-out date of June 15 if he isn’t called up to the majors.
Choi originally signed as an international free agent in 2009.