Elvis Andrus injury update: Out 6-8 weeks with broken elbow, but no surgery

Elvis Andrus injury update: Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with an olecranon fracture in his right elbow, the team announced today. Andrus will, however, not need surgery, and I think 6-8 weeks is probably on the low end of what we feared when the news broke yesterday that he had a fractured elbow.

In Elvis’s absence, the Rangers will most likely be using Jurickson Profar as their primary shortstop. Profar, who is out of options, made the team out of camp as the utility infielder, and had been slated to get the bulk of the playing time at second base after Rougned Odor went down with a strained hamstring earlier this week. Instead, Drew Robinson or Isiah Kiner-Falefa will apparently get the time at second until Odor returns.

Interestingly, the beats are saying that first baseman Ronald Guzman will get the call up to replace Elvis on the active roster. I had thought that the Rangers might go with a utility infielder, but that would necessitate a 40 man roster move, and with Elvis being out a short enough period of time that a 60 day d.l. trip won’t be necessary, Texas would have needed to drop a player from the 40 man roster to make room for a UIF.

Earlier today I went through the possible roster options the Rangers had, and mentioned Guzman as a possibility, with Joey Gallo getting time in the outfield, though suggested that the Rangers likely wouldn’t want to shuffle Gallo around, and would prefer a legitimate backup infielder to replace Elvis. However, the indications are that Gallo will start working in the outfield, which would allow Guzman to get starts at first base.

The 23 year old Guzman was signed in the 2011 J-2 class for a $3.5 million bonus, part of the Rangers’ huge big-money class that also included Nomar Mazara and Yohander Mendez. Guzman spent all of last season with AAA Round Rock, putting up a .298/.372/.434 slash line, and is slashing .412/.524/.529 for the Express this year. Guzman is a lefthanded hitter who doesn’t have the big raw power Mazara has, but who, per reports, has a solid approach, and has done well going the opposite way so far in 2018.

Should Guzman end up staying in the majors the rest of the year, he will be credited with a full year’s service time, so if that’s a concern to you, you can start complaining now.