(Courtesy of Getty Images)
In their efforts to improve their outfield production this offseason, Carlos Beltran is clearly the Yankees' top free agent target. There were reports of mutual interest between he and the team before the postseason even ended and Beltran is a near perfect fit as the type of big name player the Yankees love to bring in. But as I touched on earlier this week, Beltran comes with a fair amount of age-related risk at this stage in his career. He's right at the point where a player can fall off the productivity cliff at a moment's notice, and his disconcerting downward trend in BB rate suggests he could be closer to that cliff than his solid overall statistical profile would lead you to believe.
He's also not the only viable option for a right field upgrade. Former Cleveland Indian and Cincinnati Red Shin-Soo Choo is also a free agent this offseason. He's younger than Beltran (31), a perennial high BB rate guy with a much higher OBP than Beltran (.423 in 2013), and less of an injury/regression risk than Beltran. Choo is also reportedly drawing interest from the Yankees and if Beltran is OF target #1, it's a fair bet that Choo is right behind him on the list.
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