Kinsler Out At Least Two More Weeks

The moment Ian Kinsler went on the disabled list a couple of weeks ago, the writing was immediately on the wall as to who would replace the Texas Rangers' second baseman and leadoff hitter on the 25-man roster.

The top prospect in all of baseball, Jurickson Profar, happens to be a Rangers prospect and happens to place second base. There was excitement all around with Profar's call-up and so far, he's made the most of his chance in the bigs with five RBI in six games with a .304 batting average in his 23 at-bats.

Now, Profar will have some more time -- more than initially expected -- to make his case as an everyday big-leaguer as Kinsler will miss at least two more weeks after experiencing soreness from a stress reaction in the area of his ribs where he had a strained intercostal muscle.

''It's one step shy, I guess, of a stress fracture, in that same family,'' Rangers general manager Jon Daniels told the Associated Press. ''We're probably looking at another couple of weeks. He's sore right now. ... Right now, he's got a level of discomfort where he can't play. So it's going to be on how he's feeling and how the discomfort's progressing.''

Kinsler was off to a great start for the Rangers prior to the injury, as he was hitting .302 with a .369 on-base percentage, seven homers, 20 RBIs, three steals and had scored 24 runs.

Now it should be noted, all parties involved have said Profar will return to the minors when Kinsler is healthy, which is most likely true, but with at least two more weeks of Profar, he might have a shot to extend his stay beyond Kinsler's return in whatever capacity the Rangers could figure out.

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