ARLINGTON -- Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar has been selected as the 2018 winner of the Richard Durrett Hardest Working Man Award by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Profar will receive his award at the 2019 Dr. Pepper Texas Rangers Winter Warmup on Friday, Jan. 25 at Texas Live! in Arlington. Tickets are now on sale at texasrangers.com/winterwarmup with tables seating eight or 10 as well as general admission tickets available for purchase.
The award was instituted in November 2014 to honor the memory of Richard Durrett, who covered the Rangers for over a decade with the Dallas Morning News and ESPN.com before his sudden passing on June 17, 2014, at the age of 38. The Durrett Award is presented annually to a player who demonstrates significant improvement over the previous season or seasons through hard work.

Profar, who missed all of 2014-15 because of a shoulder injury, played in 146 games this past season and hit .254 with a .335 on-base percentage and a .458 slugging percentage. He also set career highs with 82 runs scored, 35 doubles, six triples, 20 home runs and 77 RBIs.
Jurickson enjoyed his best offensive season while also playing multiple positions as the Rangers' utility infielder. He goes into next season as the leading candidate to be the Rangers' starting third baseman.
Asuaje headed for Korea
The Rangers have sold the contract of infielder Carlos Asuaje to the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization and released him from their Major League roster. Asuaje was claimed off waivers from the Padres on Dec. 10. The Rangers now have 35 players on the 40-man roster.