Texas Rangers catcher Geovany Soto will be out for ten to twelve weeks due to a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee.
Soto will have surgery on Wednesday. It will be the second time he’s had surgery this spring. In February he had a procedure done on his left foot. He has played in just six exhibition games this spring. In those six games he went four for twelve, according to the Associated Press.
''It's really unfortunate,'' Soto said. ''I feel devastated, but it's something I can't control.''
Last year Soto was the backup for A.J. Pierzynski. He hit .245 in 54 games last year. J.P. Arencibia and Robinson Chirinos are the main candidates to replace Soto while he is out. Last year Arencibia hit .194 with 21 homeruns, 55RBI’s, had a .227 on-base percentage and a .365 slugging percentage. He is hitting .222 this spring. Chirinos has played in just 33 Major League games. He was with Triple-A Round Rock last year and hit .257 with an on-base percentage of .356 and a slugging percentage of .400, according to MLB.com. This spring Chirinos has hit .435 in 23 at-bats.
Soto isn’the only Rangers player to be injured recently. Second baseman Jurickson Profar is out for at least 10 weeks due to a torn muscle in his right shoulder. The Rangers injury list doesn’t stop there though. Outfielder Engel Beltre will start the season on the disabled list due to a fracture in the tibia bone in his right leg. The Rangers are looking at Josh Wilson and Kensuke Tanaka to replace Profar at second base.