Jurickson Profar could join Rangers as Rougned Odor’s fill-in

Jurickson Profar made his first start of the season at second base Tuesday for Triple A Round Rock in what appears to be a precursor to the infielder joining the Texas Rangers once Rougned Odor begins serving his suspension.

Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo, who played for Round Rock while on rehab assignment, could join the Rangers on Friday and become their leadoff hitter, whether or not Odor’s suspension has started.

Manager Jeff Banister said that Profar will continue to get work at second base until a decision is made on Odor’s appeal of an eight-game suspension. The Rangers could opt to go with utilityman Hanser Alberto at second, with Ryan Rua an emergency backup, but the Rangers could use an extra infielder while Odor is out.

“I would think that Profar playing second base is necessary for us given the fact that he’s on the [40-man] roster and might possibly be a move if we need to,” Banister said. “We think it’s necessary that Profar have some reps at second base.”

Profar was being groomed to be Ian Kinsler’s replacement in 2014 before two years of shoulder woes began in spring training, so second base isn’t a new position for him.

He went 1 for 5 on Tuesday, and Choo, out with a strained right calf, went 2 for 4 with a double in his second game with Round Rock. He will join Double A Frisco on Wednesday and could be activated from the 15-day disabled list Friday for the series opener at Houston.

“He felt good today,” Banister said. “I talked to him on the phone. He’s very upbeat with his progress and how he felt.”

Darvish again

Yu Darvish likely will make one more start on medical rehabilitation assignment before returning to the Rangers’ rotation after allowing only one unearned run Thursday morning for Double A Frisco.

The right-hander remains on track for a May 27 debut after throwing 68 pitches in five innings at Midland, the Double A affiliate for the Oakland A’s. He allowed only three hits, all singles, and walked one batter while recording six strikeouts.

Rather than focusing on one aspect of pitching, be it off-speed pitches or pitch sequences, Darvish told reporters that he was pitching as the game dictated, which he said also has importance.

“It’s not like I was working on something today,” he said. “I was just more realistically pitching to game situations. I thought the hitters weren’t hitting my curveballs, so I threw curveballs.”

Darvish’s fastball sat from 93 to 95 mph, and he topped out at 97. The early start time, 11 a.m., caused him to wake up earlier than normal for a ballplayer this time of year, but he knocked out the cobwebs quickly.

“Overall, it was a good outing,” Darvish said. “I’m still on a rehab assignment. I’m just focusing on one outing each time I go out there. I feel pretty confident right now, so just keep going.”

His fifth and final rehab outing, covering six innings/90 pitches will be Sunday at Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco if he reports not ill effects from Tuesday’s start.

“We’ll see how he feels,” pitching coach Doug Brocail said. “I’d like to see six and 90 out of him. This next time the 90 pitches is going to be more important.”

Fond memory

The last time left-hander Martin Perez started a day game at Oakland Coliseum was April 23, 2014, when he tossed a three-hit shutout. With the way the Rangers are scoring runs behind him, he might need a repeat performance in Wednesday’s day game.

“That’s my goal tomorrow, too, to go out there and throw nine innings,” said Perez, who will be making his ninth start.

The Rangers are giving him only 2.28 runs of support per nine innings and have scored only 20 runs with him on the mound. They haven’t scored a run while he is still in the game in his past 16  1/3 innings.

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Jurickson Profar could join Rangers as Rougned Odor’s fill-in."