On Monday, we chronicled the demise of Michael Choice as a prospect over the past couple of years, even dating back to his days in Oakland, from where he was seemingly tossed away for a fourth outfielder in Craig Gentry.
Then, like clockwork, Choice was called up on Monday when the Rangers placed outfielder Shin-Soo Choo on the disabled list and declared him out for the season with a bone spur that will be removed from his elbow.
Now, Choice has his shot at redemption and his shot at proving he's not merely a Four-A player in the mold of guys like Jason Botts and Chris Davis prior to his late breakout last season, which has regressed back to spare level this year.
Choice couldn't even get to the Mendoza line with his batting average in his big-league stint this year, and he's still struggled at Triple-A, making it look like the A's might have made the right decision by letting him go despite his very solid seasons in their minor league system before his arrival in Texas.
Now, he'll have a chance to prove he should be on the Opening Day roster in 2015. The Rangers are likely going to be looking for a left fielder as they're almost certainly going to buy out Alex Rios' club option for $1 million and will move Choo to right field. They could use a platoon in left, but the Rangers would much prefer to have an everyday guy there, and when they acquired Choice for Gentry last winter, their hope was that he would be that guy.
An extended 30-game audition is what Choice needs. He hasn't been great at Triple-A since his July demotion, but he has improved on things a bit and seemingly begun to figure some stuff out. Now is the time for him to show he belongs in Arlington.
