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Astros free agent rumors: Choo seeking $90 million

The free agent season is spooling up, which means agents are leaking contract prices

By David Coleman
Ezra Shaw

Have you been through the Scott Boras Experience before? He sounds like an insane person at this time of year. This is the point when he's distributing 60-page books comparing Oliver Perez to Sandy Koufax and predicting guys will make the gross national product of Micronesia on the free agent market.

Why do I bring this up? Well, because his projected salary for coveted outfielder Shin-Soo Choo sounds entirely too reasonable. What's going on here?

Since we've assumed Choo would get $100 million, seeing Boras lay out that lower figure puzzled me. That's not the beginning of negotiation, but his pie in the sky figure. Which means Choo's real price may be much less than that. What if it ends up at four years, $70 million? I have a LOT more interest in him at that price than I do at the numbers we've been kicking around.

Compare that to what's being asked for both Ervin Santana and Ricky Nolasco.

Free-agent right-hander Ervin Santana is seeking more than $100 million on a five-year deal, and righty Ricky Nolasco $80 million over the same term, according to major league sources.

Really, Ervin? $100 million? Who do you think is paying that? The Marlins? The Royals? I'd be shocked if you get half that, honestly. THIS is the kind of insane figure Boras usually throws around for his clients.

Nolasco, on the other hand, seems slightly more reasonable. What I'd be worried about with either guy, though, is the five-year contract length. For pitchers, that is a long, long time to stay uninjured.

That's as close as we've come to actual Astros rumors so far. Feel free to discuss more guys you might be interested in the Astros going after.

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