Choi Ji-man to miss two months with Achilles injury

Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter Choi Ji-man slides into second base after hitting a double against the Houston Astros during the first inning at PNC Park on April 11. [USA TODAY/YONHAP]

Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man will miss eight weeks with a left Achilles strain, the Pittsburgh Pirates said Wednesday.

Choi will be out for two months for rest and recovery, the team said, but will not require surgery. He will need to wear a walking boot for at least part of that rehabilitation period.

Choi sustained the injury during spring training but had attempted to play through it. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with “posterior ankle discomfort.”

Choi was off to a relatively quiet start to the season, batting .125 with four hits and three runs in 32 at-bats, but two RBIs off two home runs so far this season.

One of those home runs came last week when Choi and Bae Ji-hwan became the first Korean teammates ever to go deep in the same major league game, hammering a home run each over the wall as the Pirates beat the Houston Astros 7-4 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on April 11.

Choi homered in the sixth inning off starter Cristian Javier, his second long ball of the season coming just a day after he first went deep on April 10. That home run broke a 2-2 tie to help the Pirates start building toward their late-inning win.

That solo effort was joined by a huge three-run walk-off home run from Bae in the ninth that secured the victory just minutes after the Astros had tied things up at the top of the inning.

Choi, now in his eighth season in the big leagues, joined the Pirates in an offseason trade from the Tampa Bay Rays in November.

Choi, a big league veteran, spent the last three and a half seasons playing with the Rays in Florida. He was traded to the Pirates in November, marking his fifth major league club after earlier spells with the Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels.

Once a versatile utility man, Choi, now 31, tends to play at either first base or as a designated hitter, relying more on his slugging prowess than his defensive abilities. Choi has a career .237 batting average with 63 home runs and 231 RBIs to his name, making him one of the most prolific Korean hitters ever to play in the majors.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]