It's becoming more and more evident that the Texas Rangers really have no intentions of dealing top prospect Jurickson Profar, who's held his own since being called up when Ian Kinsler went on the disabled list over a month ago.
When Kinsler returned, Profar stayed up as the Rangers saw him as their best option for a utility bat. On Thursday, in the Rangers' finale against the New York Yankees, Profar will make his Yankee Stadium debut but it won't be in the outfield, where the Rangers are hoping he can eventually end up as he won't be beating out Kinsler shortstop Elvis Andrus for playing time.
"He's not ready," Rangers manager Ron Washington told ESPN Dallas of Profar. "He's progressing but he's not ready to go out in that outfield and run after some baseballs."
It's unrealistic to expect a kid who's never played outfield — not even in little league — to all the sudden make a move to a corner outfield spot. And lately, David Murphy has started to swing a better bat, which is where Profar was looking to step in for the struggling left fielder. That makes it a little less urgent and gives Profar more time to work on the nuances of the position as opposed to middle infield, which is all he's ever played.
Expect Profar to see some time in left field at some point this season, just don't expect it to happen really soon.
