Shin-Soo Choo has been phenomenal in the leadoff spot for the Texas Rangers, and of the two big off-season acquisitions, Choo has Prince Fielder beaten by a long shot a month into the season.
As great as Choo has been this year, he's also been absent for going on a week after he sprained his ankle last Monday in the Rangers' win over the Oakland A's. He's not expected to be in the lineup for any of the three home games against the A's, which would mean he'd be out of the lineup for 11 days when the Rangers visit Anaheim on Friday for a three-game set with the Angels.
If he's placed on the disabled list, he could be done retroactively to last Tuesday. That would make him eligible to return May 7 at home against the Colorado Rockies.
The Rangers and Choo both obviously believe he can get back before then as they've yet to put him on the DL instead hoping to let him heal similiar to what they tried to do with Adrian Beltre a couple of weeks ago before eventually placing him on the DL.
"Nobody wants to go on the disabled list," Choo recently told MLB.com. "But I don't want to do anything to hurt the team by holding up the roster. I'm positive I will feel better before 15 days. Will it be a couple of days more? I don't know."
Currently, the Rangers are playing with a 24-man roster since they're keeping the inactive Choo on the active roster. So far this season, the first-year Ranger is hitting .314 with a .432 on-base percentage, five doubles, a triple and two homers to go with 14 walks.
