The Texas Rangers have avoided arbitration with Curacao native Jurickson Profar by signing him to a one-year contract extension. In the upcoming season, Profar will earn $605,000 in the upcoming season even though he is still recovering from an injury.
Jurickson has missed almost two seasons due to a shoulder injury which eventually resulted in surgery, early in 2015. At the end of the 2015 season Jurickson started his rehab with the Hickory Crawdads where he played together with his younger brother Juremi. After nine games at A Full Season level, at which he batted .273, he was sent to AA Frisco. Jurickson batted a modest .200 over there.
Experts expect that he will start the season at AAA Round Rock. At the moment Jurickson is on an extended throwing program.
In 2013 Profar joined the Dutch national team with the World Baseball Classic as they reached the semi final, but he did not get any playing time.in the game vs the Dominican Republic.
As a kid Jurickson helped his little league team to the Little League World Series in 2004. In that tournament the Pabao team from Willemstad Curacao, reached the final in which they beat the US representative from Thousand Oaks. One year later the team, still with Jurickson in their ranks, moved on to the final again, but this time the West Oahu Little League from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, was too strong.
Jurickson is one of the many shortstops that the Kingdom of the Netherlands can field.
Dutch Baseball Hangout 