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Texas Rangers outfielder Delino DeShields will go out on a rehab assignment on Thursday and Friday with Frisco, the team announced today. DeShields, who is on the disabled list due to surgery for a broken hamate bone, will then be re-evaluated, per the beat guys.
If DeShields is functional, then he could conceivably be back on the active roster by Saturday. That would be well ahead of the four to six week time frame initially projected, though DeShields apparently has a high level of pain tolerance. The Rangers are also probably more inclined to let him come back earlier than normal given the state of their active roster, which is currently missing Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor due to injuries, and has Jurickson Profar in concussion protocol.
If Profar has to go on the 7 day concussion disabled list, then DeShields would presumably replace whomever gets called up to fill in for Profar on Friday. Alternatively, DeShields could replace Ryan Rua, who replaced Tony Barnette on the 25 man roster when Barnette was placed on the d.l. to clear a spot for a position player to fill in while Profar is active but unavailable.