Bad Luck Begets Jurickson Profar, Texas Rangers Again
After a rash of injuries sustained by the Texas Rangers’ roster in 2014, more bad news has now reached their clubhouse for the 2015 season. Enticing prospect and infielder Jurickson Profar is set at long last to undergo surgery on his ailing right shoulder. His 2015 season is likely done, with his career in potential jeopardy.
Before the 2013 season, Profar was the unanimous top prospect in all of baseball. MLB.com, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus all ranked him as the best up and comer in the game. He did not do much with his 286 at-bats that season, and has not played ever since.
Profar’s stubbornness appears to be the root of the issue. After sustaining an injury in spring training last year, he opted to avoid surgery and any potential setbacks that might have come with it for the 2015 season. He rested, rehabilitated it and set his sights on 2015.
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Profar had been undergoing MRI’s every three weeks to closely monitor the right shoulder. One taken on Tuesday showed increased strain on the subscapularis muscle in his shoulder from a previous MRI’s results. So now, almost 365 days after his initial decision, Profar is doing the smart thing and opting to nurture his shoulder with a corrective procedure, rather than let nature further take its course. Had he originally done this, his chances of playing at all in 2015 would have been a lot better.
Only 22, it’s a wonder why such wear and tear comes with such youth in Profar’s case. The same as last year, he was slated to start at second base for the Rangers, who are fortunate to have Rougned Odor ready to enter his sophomore season and man the position in lieu of Profar.
A native of Curaçao — the same small island country that produced 5x All-Star Andruw Jones — Profar now needs to not only rehab his body again, but he needs to rehab his mind. This is no doubt a stressful situation to be in for a young man. Missing two consecutive full seasons will weigh heavy on a person who grew up with dreams of big league fame and fortune. Perhaps using Josh Hamilton‘s early-on career story as a guideline for what not to do when faced with adversity as a young ball player would best befit Profar.
A career .274/.369/.441 hitter in the minors, it’s likely that if Profar’s shoulder ever allows him to throw a baseball or swing a bat again, it will first have to happen in the farm system. Two consecutive years away from the game will have drastically slowed down his development. Even if he is ready to resume baseball activities by this time next year, much of the baseball Profar would be playing in 2016 will be at the minor league level.