The Texas Rangers have temporarily sorted out their infield logjam with perhaps the least likely solution.
Second baseman Rougned Odor was obviously going to reclaim his position from Jurickson Profar when he returned from his seven-game suspension Saturday. But Profar's return made it hard for the Rangers to send him back to the minors. Instead, they sat down Prince Fielder, the slumping $24-million designated hitter, to let him clear his head, and replaced him with Profar on Saturday.
Though the Rangers are confident Fielder can regain his old form, it's unclear when he'll return to the lineup.
"Sometimes, you just get to a point where you've got to put the bat down and exhale," manager Jeff Banister told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. "Prince is in a good place mentally. He'll be back doing the same things he did for us last year. He's going to be a force for us. He is a quality hitter. There are times when the game is a challenge."
Fielder, who was named the AL Comeback Player of the Year in 2015, has had a miserable go of it in 2016. He's slashing just .187/.257/.288 and has homered just once since April 20.
On the other end of the scale is Profar, who returned to the Rangers when Odor was suspended and turned heads almost instantly. The 23-year-old, who was sidelined with a myriad of injuries since mid-2013, hit .364/.364/.636 as Odor's temporary replacement, then added two hits, a walk, and a run scored from the leadoff spot on Saturday as the Rangers DH.
While he won't be replacing Fielder in the lineup for the long haul, Profar's shown the Rangers that he has a place in their lineup right now. His ability to play three infield positions plus the DH slot gives the team plenty of options to utilize his talents going forward.
"We're going to find Profar opportunities to play while he's here," Banister said. "Is that on an everyday basis? I'm not willing to say how we will. Let's just let him play. We will make decisions on what and how he plays as dictated."
