Profar out of hospital, has concussion after collision
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SAN DIEGO – Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar has been released from the hospital after being diagnosed with a concussion and a cervical sprain, the team announced Friday.
Profar was carted off the Petco Park field during the Padres’ 2-1 victory over the Giants on Thursday night after a violent collision with shortstop C.J. Abrams in the fifth inning.
“There’s no fractures. There’s no broken anything anywhere,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “He’s sore, obviously.”
Melvin spoke with Profar and said he was in good spirits. Profar was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list and will go through full concussion protocols.
“We’ll see where we go from there and see if he passes all the protocols after that,” Melvin said, “but I think we really caught a break and there’s nothing worse than that.”
With one out, Tommy La Stella hit a popup to short left field. Profar sprinted in as Abrams ran out to the ball. As Abrams caught the ball, Profar slid on the grass. Abrams was unable to avoid him, and the shortstop’s left knee caught Profar square on the jaw.
Profar was transported to UC San Diego Medical Center, about five miles north of Petco Park.
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Third baseman Manny Machado was among the many teammates who reached out to Profar on Friday.
“He’s doing pretty well; he’s doing better,” Machado said. “Thank God it wasn’t something too serious. I saw the replay, and it wasn’t pretty. … I’m just glad he’s doing way better today. Hopefully, he’s back with us shortly. It could have been a lot worse.”
Outfielder Brent Rooker was called up from Triple-A El Paso to fill the open roster spot.
Profar led the National League with eight outfield assists entering Friday and has produced a slash line of .242/.343/.397, providing some stability to an outfield that has struggled to produce offensively. Profar batted leadoff in 11 of the Padres’ 12 most recent games through Thursday and reached base safely in nine of those 11 games.
“Since he’s taken over the leadoff spot, it’s been as good as we’ve had,” Melvin said. “He’s a guy that’s hit anywhere in the lineup. He’s hit fourth this year; he’s hit leadoff this year. He’s driven in runs; he’s gotten on base. He knows how to handle each and every role, so it’s a big miss for us.”