Dang. With the non-tender deadline looming, I was hoping that the A’s would wind up non-tendering versatile infielder Jurickson Profar, which would allow the Cubs to explore bringing him on as a buy-low, bounce-back, maybe-he’s-the-guy-at-second-base type.
Alas, the Padres continue their very busy offseason of annoying me:
Sources: #Padres acquire Jurickson Profar.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) December 2, 2019
Having already made a headscratching trade with the Brewers, and having already plucked my ideal reliever off the free agent market, the Padres are now taking advantage of the A’s tight financial situation and Profar’s dubiously down 2019 season to bring in a possible replacement for Luis Urias, whom they sent to the Brewers in the aforementioned trade.
I liked Profar as a utility option for the Cubs, particularly given his youth (26), solid glove (neutral or plus defender at 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and 1B), high-contact bat (14.5% K rate last year), and how much his down 2019 seemed driven by a flukey low BABIP. Maybe he is a tough fit on a team with a whole bunch of fringe starters at second base already, but the guys the Cubs already have don’t necessarily profile to have a high-contact approach, nor are they realistically able to play shortstop.
To be sure, Profar may wind up a utility guy for the Padres, but he definitely still has starter upside at second base, and could take the Padres out of the market for any additions there (to the extent they would have otherwise chatted with the Cubs about their surplus of fringe 2B options).
We’ll soon see the return, but I wouldn’t expect it to be overwhelming. Everyone knew Profar ($5.8ish million) was a non-tender candidate today.
UPDATE: About the range you’d expect, with the A’s getting a decent, but not necessarily significant, prospect (technically graduated):
The Oakland A's have traded infielder Jurickson Profar to the San Diego Padres for catcher Austin Allen and a player to be named later, sources tell ESPN.
Profar was likely to be non-tendered before the 8 p.m. ET deadline, and Oakland wound up getting Allen, 25 with some pop.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 2, 2019