Monday, February 18, 2013
Profar, so good?
By AJ Mass
Both Jurickson Profar and Adrian Beltre came to the same conclusion in recent days, but for very different reasons. Neither member of the Texas Rangers will be participating in this year's World Baseball Classic.
For Beltre, who was going to suit up for the Dominican Republic, it comes down to his not being 100 percent healthy. Beltre has a minor right calf muscle suffered during early team workouts and simply doesn't want the issue to linger into games that count.
As for Profar, the decision to bail on Team Netherlands has everything to do with his hoping to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster and avoiding the forecast demotion to Triple-A. The team had left the decision in Profar's hands, and after going back and forth for a few weeks, he's decided to stay in camp.
However, it is very premature to assume this means Profar will "head north" with the team when April comes. The Rangers are going to want their top prospect playing games and not sitting on the bench, so it will take an incredibly hot spring to force their hand.
