Leonys Martin took a gamble on Thursday night, and it not only cost the Texas Rangers a run, but could have cost them much more in terms of Martin's health.
The rookie centerfielder made a fruitless dive at a line drive to left-center — a ball that could've been played on a bounce to score just one run but ended going to the wall and scoring two. It was an admirable try, but a rookie gamble, nonetheless.
Now, Martin is day-to-day with what the Rangers are calling a minor wrist sprain of his glove hand. He was replaced by Craig Gentry, who will get all the playing time in center until Martin is ready to return.
Martin has had his ups and downs as a rookie, showing some flashes of brilliance but also making some rookie mistakes at the plate and most notably in the field, even though he does have an incredibly strong throwing arm.
He's hitting .257 with a .311 on-base percentage, four triples, three homers, 10 RBIs and eight stolen bases. That doesn't sound like anything special, but when compared to Gentry's numbers at the plate, it's all-star caliber.
Now, the Rangers just have to hope Martin's injury is indeed "day-to-day" and not similar to Mitch Moreland's, who was also listed as day-to-day a day before going on the disabled list.
