It's hard to put any kind of sugarcoating on the fact that Jurickson Profar and Geovany Soto are both going to be on the shelf for about three months. To a much lesser extent, it's near impossible to find anything good about the possibility of Yu Darvish not starting on Opening Day opposite Cliff Lee.
However, there is one injury recently that might actually help the Texas Rangers out a bit, as reserve outfielder Engel Beltre will open the season on the disabled list and prevent the Rangers from having to make a tough decision between he and rookie Michael Choice, both of whom have had good springs.
Beltre fractured his tibia and could be on the shelf for 10-12 weeks. He was the favorite to land on the Opening Day roster ahead of Choice, who's been the most positive story in spring training, because Beltre is out of options and couldn't be assigned to the minor leagues without passing through waivers. It's hard to envision a scenario in which Beltre wouldn't have been picked up by someone else, if healthy.
Now, the Rangers can get an extended look at Choice in the big leagues, and if he falls flat they can send him down and bring Beltre up when he's healthy, allowing Choice to play every day in Round Rock.
This spring, Beltre hit .333 over 30 at-bats but had some defensive struggles.
