Shin-Soo Choo, Rangers agree to seven-year, $130 million deal

Shin-Soo Choo ranked eighth in OPS in the National League last season. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) Free agent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo has agreed to a

Lorenzo Arguello | Dec 21, 2013

Shin-Soo Choo, Rangers agree to seven-year, $130 million deal /

Shin-Soo Choo ranked eighth in OPS in the National League last season. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Free agent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo has agreed to a seven-year, $130 million deal with the Texas Rangers, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The deal has been confirmed by multiple other reports.

The former Cincinnati Reds outfielder had a slash line of .285/.423/.462 with 21 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 2013. Choo also walked 121 times last season and is considered a plus defender.

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Choo immediately becomes the Rangers' leadoff hitter and ensures free agent outfielder Nelson Cruz won't return to Arlington, Texas. The ex-Red joins Prince Fielder as part of a busy Texas offseason.

A big reason Choo agreed to go to the Rangers instead of taking more money from the Yankees is the lack of a state income tax in Texas, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. New York reportedly would've had to offer a contract totaling around $147 million just to match Texas' offer at a post-tax level.

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Published Dec 21, 2013

LORENZO ARGUELLO

Lorenzo Arguello is a senior programming editor at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in March 2013, he worked at MLB Advanced Media, Business Insider and the Post-Standard. He has a bachelor's in broadcast news and economics from the University of Colorado and a master's in journalism from Syracuse University.