Indians’ Choo agrees to one-year contract

Cleveland Indians outfielder Choo Shin-soo has agreed to a one-year extension with the team, getting a $1 million raise while avoiding salary arbitration.

The Indians’ Web site announced early Wednesday, Korean time, that Choo will make $4.9 million in 2012. Last year, he earned $3.98 million while struggling through a trying season on and off the field. The year before that he made $461,000, barely over the major league minimum.

The left-handed right fielder was limited last year to 85 games by injuries, his fewest since becoming a full-time major leaguer in 2008. He managed just eight home runs, 36 RBI and a .259 batting average - all his worst numbers since 2008.

In May last year, his slow start to the season took a turn for the worse when Choo was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. A month later, he broke his left thumb when he was hit by a pitch from San Francisco’s Jonathan Sanchez.

Yonhap