The Texas Rangers' signing of free agent Shin-Soo Choo does several things for the club, most notably giving them one of the league's top leadoff hitters.
After the Rangers shipped Ian Kinsler to Detroit for Prince Fielder, the Rangers were looking for a new leadoff hitter and appeared set to give Leonys Martin a shot at being the everyday leadoff man — a spot he had moderate success in in limited duty in 2013, but eventually began to struggle in.
With Choo entrenched as the team's leadoff hitter, bringing with him a .423 on-base percentage in 2013, Martin will be able to be in a much less pressure-packed position as the team's No. 9 hitter, where he thrived last season with a .292 batting average and .336 on-base percentage.
Martin is still learning how to be a big-league hitter, and at times showed flashes of brilliance last season with a unique blend of speed, power and the ability to get on via the bunt. But he still has a lot to learn, and being in the No. 9 hole will give him an opportunity to further mature as a hitter while not having the weight of the world on his shoulders in the leadoff spot.
