Shin-Soo Choo isn’t sure he can play center field either

When the Reds acquired Shin-Soo Choo and announced that he’d be playing center field this season there was a lot of skepticism about his ability to handle the position defensively at age 30 after starting just one game there since 2007.

And it turns out Choo is skeptical too, telling John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

I’m not comfortable there yet. At the major league level, I played 99 percent of my games in right field. I’ll try. I’ll work on it this spring training. We’ll see how they’re thinking. If they’re not [happy], somebody else will be playing in center field. I’ll try the best I can.

Not exactly the words Reds fans probably want to hear, although Choo is right in that if the team decides he simply can’t hack it in center field they could try to move Gold Glove-winning right fielder Jay Bruce there instead.

There’s no doubt that Choo and his excellent on-base skills will provide a huge boost to the Reds’ lineup, but with either Choo or Bruce in center field and 34-year-old Ryan Ludwick in left field the outfield defense could give back a bunch of runs.