The Ji-Man Choi era with the Tampa Bay Rays is officially over as the team dealt the longtime fan favorite to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
We get it. Choi was getting more expensive, entering his third year of arbitration, so the always budget conscious Rays were bound to part ways with Ji-Man. Also, the Rays were needing to clear room on an extremely crammed 40-man roster and with several candidates coming up through the system to take over the first base duties, Choi’s place on the roster seemed redundant.
Although the reasoning behind parting with Choi is sound, it is still the end of an era for Rays fans.