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Rangers demote center fielder Leonys Martin to Triple-A

Leonys Martin

Texas Rangers batter Leonys Martin hits in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

AP

Leonys Martin has been Texas’ starting center fielder since 2013 and hasn’t played in the minors since 2012, but two weeks ago the Rangers benched him for Delino DeShields and now they’re sending him to Triple-A.

Martin heads back to the minors as a 27-year-old with nearly 1,500 plate appearances as a big leaguer, but his performance this season has been genuinely terrible with a .220 batting average and .578 OPS in 94 games.

Even when Martin was playing well in 2013 and 2014 he offered modest offensive value thanks to poor power and plate discipline, but made up for it with good speed and defense.

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