Jurickson Profar Activated From 60-Day DL

Today the Rangers activated INF Jurickson Profar from the 60-day DL, a procedural move such that he will be able to DH for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League.

Today, in Profar's first action since DH'ing for Hickory and Frisco at the end of the 2015 Minor League season, he went 2-5 with a double and game-tying solo HR in the top of the 9th, a contest the Saguaros ended up winning 7-6. 

Jeff Wilson has an excellent writeup of Profar's lost 2014-'15 seasons, with the former top prospect confident he will make it back to the big leagues in 2016. 

Assuming health, it's going to be interesting to see how Jurickson handles playing baseball on a semi-regular basis for the first time since 2013. As LSB's Adam Morris reminds us: "The track record for position players who have lost this sort of development time due to injury is sparse," so it's hard to expect Profar to simply pick up where his trajectory left off. He's been around so long that he got a hit off Orioles closer, Jim Johnson, in the 2012 American League Wild Card Game, and is still just 22 years old. 

But his layoff can't be understated. Missing a full year of plate appearances as a 21 and 22 year-old isn't only potentially damaging to Jurickson and his ultimate ceiling, it's delayed the Rangers' final middle infield solution. Remember, when Texas traded Ian Kinsler to Detroit in November, 2013, it was with the intention of opening the 2014 campaign with Profar as the club's second baseman. 

Obviously, a lot has changed in the last 24 months. Elvis Andrus's production has largely stagnated. Rougned Odor became a monster. And meanwhile, Profar opted in 2015 for the labrum surgery he, in retrospect, probably should have received a year earlier. 

At this point Jurickson's health, and physical capacity to play baseball, is of highest priority. The results figure to follow.