Since Jurickson Profar has forced his way into the Rangers' lineup with his insane performance in his first 11 games of the year. In those games, Profar has 19 hits with two doubles, two triples and two homers as the leadoff man.
Prince Fielder was the first victim of Profar's greatness, as he sat two straight games to try to kick his slump while Profar was at DH and second base.
Then, on Tuesday, Profar got his first ever start — at any level — at first base, and it was Fielder who was still in the lineup at DH while Moreland sat for the second straight day.
Both Fielder and Moreland are struggling horribly, and they're going to take the brunt of Profar's hammer as the first base/DH tandem, but the Rangers will try more desperately to get Fielder going than Moreland.
Fielder is here for the long haul. He's making $24 million ($18 million from the Rangers) this year, and that'll be the case for the next four seasons after this one. Moreland will be a free agent this winter and will not be coming back because he just doesn't fit in their long-term plan, as steady as he's been, especially in the field.
Frankly, as good as Profar was at first base on Tuesday, Moreland had to be sweating a bit. It was one game, and it's not sustainable, but it has to be putting pressure on Moreland to get some playing time and not see his value this winter tank even more than it already is.
Moreland has been a loyal soldier for the Rangers since coming up in 2010 and getting red-hot in the postseason, but he's about to be phased out by a 23-year-old.
