Shin-Soo Choo returned to the Texas Rangers’ lineup Friday night, but he exited after the top of the third with another injury.
The 2016 season has been a trying one for Texas Rangers right fielder Shin-Soo Choo. Choo, who played in 149 games in 2015, has played in just five this season due to injury. On Friday night, Choo made his return from a lengthy six-week DL-stint that sidelined him with a right calf ailment. However, it wasn’t the type of return Choo or the Rangers were hoping for.
Choo batted leadoff, and walked twice, while scoring a run. However, after Choo scored from second base on a Prince Fielder double, Choo did not return to the field in the bottom of the third inning.
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Choo left the game, in which the Rangers went on to beat the Houston Astros 2-1, with a tight left hamstring, according to MLB.com. As of Friday night, the Rangers didn’t provide an official update on Choo’s condition, so it’s unclear how much time, if any, he’ll miss, or if he’ll need another stint on the disabled list. Nevertheless, Friday’s development wasn’t encouraging for the Rangers, or their fans. When he is healthy, Choo has proven to be a productive and valuable player over the course of his career. Choo slashed .276/.375/.463 in 2015, when he had 653 plate appearances, which was the fourth highest total of his twelve-year career to this point.
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While it is an extremely small sample size, Choo is slashing .188/.409/.188 on the 2016 season. It would be ideal for the Rangers if this is simply a minor setback for Choo, but the severity remains to be seen at this point. The Rangers, at 23-19, are just 1.5 games back of the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners, who are 24-17 as of Friday.