Jurickson Profar expects to be out for the season
By Hayden Kane
The Texas Rangers have realized the unfortunate possibility for a while now: infielder Jurickson Profar, for whom they specifically made a big move to free up his spot in the lineup before the season started, might very well be out for the entire 2014 season with a shoulder injury.
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Rather than offer a rosier perspective or try to dodge the question, Profar himself acknowledged the same on Tuesday night. Speaking to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, he said the following:
Jurickson Profar doesn't expect to play again this season. "If I have to lose the year, that's alright. I want to get better." #Rangers
— Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilsonTXR) June 3, 2014
While that is a healthy perspective for him to have as such a young man, one imagines his disappointment that he will miss a season in which many people hoped to see him break through. From the Rangers’ perspective, this is just one of a number of devastating blows that have ruined their grand plans for the 2014 season.
Profar came up as a shortstop. With Elvis Andrus the incumbent at that spot, the plan was to move Profar to second base. This became especially logical when the team dealt Ian Kinsler to the Detroit Tigers for first baseman Prince Fielder (who is also out for the season).
That lineup still might work for the Rangers; it just won’t happen this season. As for Profar, he will have to wait until the 2015 campaign to try and prove doubters wrong after his disappointing work (.234/.308/.336) in 85 games with the Rangers last season.