Profar shut down with shoulder soreness

Day 3 of camp saw a few more position players report and the pitchers continuing to get ready for the season. The big story out of camp yesterday though was Jurickson Profar being shutdown with continued shoulder soreness. This comes from the tendinitis he has been dealing with. It is not a major concern just yet. The thought is to have him not throw for a week and then slowly work him in practices and then by the middle of March have him get into games. That should still allow him to get the at-bats he needs and the repetitions he needs to be ready defensively to be ready for the season. The good news though is this will allow the Rangers to get a really good look at second base prospect Roughned Odor. He is thought to be about a year or two away, but if he performs in camp he could put himself in position to win the utility infield spot.

The other big story was Yu Darvish showing a more light-hearted side. He was asked in a post practice presser what he thought of Masahiro Tanaka’s 7 year/ $155 million contract and he responded by saying ““Well, I don’t know much about the new posting system, but I think the Yankees gave him a little too much money.” The whole room chuckled at the comment and knew that it was a joke. It got passed on to the internet and suddenly everyone thought that Darvish was trying to say that Tanaka was overpaid and overrated. He came back later in the day and apologized for the comment and said that he was just joking and he thought everyone knew that. That is certainly a danger in today’s society, because sometimes jokes don’t translate in print. Unless you are actually seeing it, then people are going to take it as serious. Unfortunately, that means that Darvish may hide that side of his personality for fear that he might be misunderstood again.

In other news, Matt Harrison felt his neck stiffen up a bit so the Rangers gave him the day off. It is still early and so no reason to risk further injury. I am sure with a couple of days rest he will be fine and be back out there on the mound. Colby Lewis continues his impressive spring. Mike Maddux is even taking notice. He said about Lewis, “It was good to see him get down and drive off his back side. He hadn’t been able to do it.” Lewis as noted yesterday has pitched with several ailments these last few years, but early on in camp it seems as if he is pitching with no pain. The big question with him will be if this no pain and added strenght will lead to success on the mound. I know everyone in the organization is rooting for him and if he does have success out there then he will have the inside track to the number 5 spot in the rotation.

Finally, Mitch Moreland and left-fielder Shin Shoo Choo reported to camp yesterday two days ahead of the first full-squad workout. Moreland enters with a lot to prove this season. Last season was a disappointment for Moreland. 2013 was supposed to be a real breakout season for Moreland. It was his third full season in the big leagues and it was thought he would take that next step. Instead he took a big step backward. While his home run total increased, his batting average, OBP, and OPS all took big decreases. Now with the Rangers having acquired Prince Fielder Moreland is being moved to DH/4th outfielder. It is a big spring for Moreland. He needs to go out there and show that he is the player the Rangers thought he could be when they traded Chris Davis to Baltimore. Choo has a lot to prove as well. He comes into camp with that big contract and is out to prove to doubters that he is worth it. The Rangers just need him to be himself though. He needs to be a guy that provides 20-25 home runs, .400+ OBP, and knock in 80-100 runs. He is going to enter the season hopefully as the starting left-fielder replacing David Murphy.

That is pretty much all that happened in camp today. Today is the last full workout before position players are to report on Thursday. Then one more week until actual Spring Training games are to start.

Daily Countdown: 40 days till Opening Day