When the Texas Rangers traded Ian Kinsler to the Detroit Tigers, they did so knowing that Jurickson Profar was ready to be an everyday player in the Major Leagues and with the expectation that he would be the team’s starting second baseman. Unfortunately Profar will not be in that role for quite some time as a torn teres major muscle will keep him out of the Rangers lineup for 10-12 weeks.
For the non-medical people, the injury is to a muscle in Profar’s right shoulder. He will reportedly not need surgery. Profar had been dealing with tendinitis throughout the last four weeks of spring training.
“This is our everyday second baseman, somebody we expected to take a major step forward in his career,” assistant general manager Thad Levine said. “Hopefully he’ll be a weapon in the second half of the season.”
The 21-year-old Profar was a utility man for the Rangers in his rookie season. He batted .234/.308/.336 in 324 plate appearances last season. Profar also had six home runs.
“We’ll get somebody there to play,” manager Ron Washington said. “We will have a second baseman. We’ve got guys in camp that can play there. In the meantime, I’m sure [general manager Jon Daniels] will be out there looking. We’re OK. Believe me, we’re OK. We’ll miss Profar, but we’ll move on and win some ballgames.”
Josh Wilson, Adam Rosales, Kensuke Tanaka and Brent Lillibridge are internal candidates to replace Profar at second. The Rangers also have 20-year-old uber prospect Rougned Odor. In 144 plate appearances with Double-A Frisco, Odor hit .306 with an .884 OPS last season. However, he may be too inexperienced with just 30 games at double-A. He spent most of last season in high A-ball.
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