Rays trade Ji-Man Choi to Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired first baseman Ji-Man Choi from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor-league right-hander Jack Hartman, the teams announced Thursday.

Choi, 31, spent most of the last five seasons with the Rays, becoming a key contributor to several playoff runs and a fan favorite. He hit .233/.341/.388 with 11 home runs and 52 RBIs over 419 plate appearances this past season. He also provided solid defense, tallying two outs above average at first base.

Tampa Bay primarily deployed the native of Incheon, South Korea, against right-handers in a platoon at first base. While his .723 OPS against southpaws last year was a career-best, all of his home runs came off righties.

Choi - who owns a .239/.345/.429 career slash line across parts of seven big-league seasons with four teams - is entering his final year of arbitration. He's projected to earn $4.5 million next year, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Pittsburgh will look to Choi for some much-needed stability at first base in 2023. Six first basemen combined to post a 59 wRC+ and a minus-3.0 WAR for the Pirates last season, by far the lowest such marks in the majors.

Hartman, the Pirates' fourth-round pick out of Appalachian State in 2020, made his professional debut this past summer at Low-A Bradenton. The 24-year-old posted a 6.27 ERA in 18 2/3 innings after missing all of 2021 following Tommy John surgery.