Jurickson Profar leaves game after hard slide

Texas Rangers shortstop Jurickson Profar was removed from today’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning, after going down hard when Mallex Smith of the Rays slid into him as he was attempting to turn a double play. Profar was taken from the field and appeared to be getting treated as having a potential concussion.

The Rangers are already missing their starting double play combination, with Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor on the disabled list, and with Profar out as well, the Rangers have Drew Robinson playing shortstop, with Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second base. Robinson has less than fifty games of professional experience at shortstop, and has primarily been used as an outfielder of late. Starting pitcher Martin Perez was already having an awful game, and adding insult to injury, Profar threw the ball away on the play where he was injured, allowing a run to score, and then in the next inning, Robinson made a fielding error that allowed a run to score.

As I’m typing this, the score is 6-1 Rays, though it could well be much worse by the time I hit publish. The Rangers also don’t really have a viable infield option to come up and replace Profar, should he go on the disabled list. Ryan Rua, who was optioned today, could potentially return if Profar was d.l.’d, or the Rangers could purchase the contract of Hanser Alberto or Nick Noonan from AAA to give them a backup infielder, though adding Alberto or Noonan would mean clearing a 40 man roster spot.

Bottom line, the roster situation is a mess, and the injuries to the infielder have left the Rangers in a jam. When more info on Profar’s situation is available, we will update.

UPDATE -- Profar is in the concussion protocol, per the beat guys.