Andrus Excited to Work With Profar

Sure, Elvis Andrus will miss his lil' buddy Ian Kinsler and working with him as what looked to be the Texas Rangers double-play combination for years to come.

That was, until Jurickson Profar came into the fold.

Now, Andrus and new second baseman Profar will form what could be the best double-play combination in baseball for years to come, and Andrus is excited about it.

"The guy is extremely talented, like I've always said," Andrus told ESPN Dallas over the weekend. "On Day 1, we'll be able to talk and the same thing I did with Ian at the beginning, we'll do the same with Jurickson -- make him feel comfortable and let him grow and keep getting better as a player."

As excited as Andrus is about working with Profar, the 20-year-old phenom who will be taking on an everyday role for the first time, he added that he will miss Kinsler, who was dealt to Detroit in November in a surprise blockbuster to bring back slugging first baseman Prince Fielder.

"Besides my [double play] partner, he was my buddy," Andrus said. "He was one of the guys that welcomed me. He always made me feel comfortable on the field. It's going to be a little bit sad, but, at the same time, this is a business and you've got to keep playing."

After a terrible start to the 2013 season, Andrus caught fire after the all-star break and finished with a respectable .271 batting average, a .328 on-base percentage, four homers and 67 RBIs. In the second half, he was a .313 hitter with a .369 OBP.

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Profar struggled in his rookie season, playing a utility role and failing to get into an everyday flow, which is to be expected for a 20-year-old kid getting his first swim through the bigs as basically a bench player. It probably wasn't the best way to handle him, but it's history now and he's now an everyday player.

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