Shin-Soo Choo will split time between designated hitter, outfield for remainder of season
By Hayden Kane
As the Texas Rangers limp through the final months of a 2014 season that has been battered by injuries up and down the roster, they will take some of the pressure off of Shin-Soo Choo.
More from MLB
- Braves get dose of bad news on Max Fried as ace nears return
- Shohei Ohtani trade rumors live tracker: Every update so far
- MLB Rumors: Yankees mistake, Cardinals trade package, Cubs choice
- Inside the Clubhouse: What I’m hearing ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline
- After frantic trade day, Kiké Hernandez grateful for second chance with Dodgers
Their biggest signing from this past off-season, Choo has been dealing with an ankle injury for the majority of the season. He has been able to stay on the field for the most part, but with the Rangers well out of any type of race whatsoever, the Rangers will ease the wear and tear on Choo for the remainder of the season.
According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, manager Ron Washington plans to split Choo’s playing time between the outfield and the designated hitter spot for the remainder of the season.
"Manager Ron Washington said Choo will probably split his time between the outfield and designated hitter.‘I’m going to give him days at DH and some days in the outfield,” Washington said. “The guy doesn’t like to DH so I’ve got to get him time in the outfield.”Because of the ankle, the Rangers are probably a better team when Choo is at designated hitter."
The Rangers will have an interesting off-season as they try to make sense of their chances in 2015 after a painful 2014 campaign. Certainly there will be more to their state of the franchise than their win-loss record, and possibly a team that is ready to flip the switch and contend.
If they are, Choo will be in the center of those plans. In the meantime, they will ease his workload a bit on the defensive side of things for the remainder of 2014.