Ji-Man Choi wins arbitration case (source)

First baseman Ji-Man Choi won his arbitration case against the Rays, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, setting his salary for this season and leaving Tampa Bay with one more arbitration hearing.

Choi will earn $2.45 million this year, the amount he filed for when the two sides exchanged figures on Jan. 15. The Rays filed at $1.85 million, a $600,000 difference. Tampa Bay has not confirmed the results of the hearing.

The Rays agreed to terms with all their arbitration-eligible players last month except for Choi and left-hander Ryan Yarbrough. Feinsand previously reported that Yarbrough filed for a $3.1 million salary, with Tampa Bay offering $2.3 million. As was the case with Choi, a hearing will only determine Yarbrough’s salary; he remains under club control regardless of the decision of the arbitration panel.

Speaking with a group of reporters in Seoul before leaving South Korea for Spring Training, the 29-year-old Choi said he never thought he’d make it far enough in the Majors to go through salary arbitration. Players with more than three years of MLB service time but fewer than six years are eligible for arbitration, typically earning raises each year they are eligible before reaching free agency.

Choi told reporters he stayed up until 4:30 a.m. to follow his hearing, but he did not seem upset by the sometimes-contentious process. When asked about earning a seven-figure salary for the first time, Choi reportedly joked, “I will believe it when I see those numbers in my bank account.

"I am a bit tired, but it was a lot of fun because it was my first time doing this," Choi said, according to the Yonhap News Agency. "The team is exercising its rights, and I am exercising my rights as a player. It was all done in a good spirit."

After hitting .261/.363/.459 with 19 homers over 127 games in 2019, Choi took a step back last year with a .230/.331/.410 slash line and three homers in 42 games. The left-handed-hitting first baseman went 10-for-40 with two homers, 10 walks and four RBIs in the playoffs.

Choi’s fun-loving attitude and acrobatic moves at first base made him a popular figure in the postseason, but he warned reporters that he may not bring back the gymnastic splits that made him a meme last October due to a lack of access to indoor sports facilities in South Korea this offseason. But his cheerful attitude and sense of humor clearly haven’t gone anywhere.

"I haven't done much of yoga this winter, and it may hurt quite a bit if I do those splits now," Choi said, according to Yonhap News. "It'd be nice if my teammates threw a little better."