Leonys Martin
It was widely known going into the offseason that the Tigers might need a little bit of extra help in center field. JaCoby Jones was given an opportunity to showcase his talents last season, and while he was impressive in the outfield and on the basepaths, he hit only .170/.240/.270 with three home runs through 56 games with the Tigers. One of the things that the Tigers did to address their center field problem this offseason was signing Leonys Martin to a one-year deal.
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Martin is a bit of a lottery ticket for the Tigers. He is coming off of a rough season, slashing just .172/.232/.281 with three home runs through 49 games with the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs.
Two years ago, however, he hit a respectable .247/.306/.378 (88 OPS+) with 15 home runs, 24 stolen bases and 47 RBI for the Mariners. Assuming he can get back on track, he will provide an experienced option at leadoff for Detroit.
Throughout his career, Martin has hit a respectable .255/.308/.345 with seven home runs through 133 games in the leadoff spot. While he is admittedly a player who hasn’t been known to hit for a high average, doesn’t get on base too frequently and probably strikes out too often, he still has speed and can provide a certain amount of pop from the leadoff spot.
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While Martin may not be the ideal leadoff hitter and probably won’t be able to do the job that Kinsler did, he may not be a bad option for a rebuilding club like the Detroit Tigers. It may be a stretch to expect him to get back to being the player he was in 2014 when he hit .298 through 40 games out of the leadoff spot for the Texas Rangers, but he may just be able to provide a pleasant surprise for Detroit.