Jurickson Profar didn’t appear in the lineup for the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate tonight, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that Profar was frustrated that he wasn’t traded in a deadline deal. Profar has long been a staple of trade rumors dating back to his time as baseball’s top prospect, though injuries and a lack of production over 718 big league plate appearances have dimmed his star considerably. Profar is still just 24 years old and he’s been hitting well at Triple-A this year, though without a clear path to playing time or even a stable position ahead of him in Texas, it appears as though Profar is looking for a change of scenery. Of course, if other teams now know that Profar wants out, it will be harder for the Rangers to recoup value for him in a deal, so Profar may not have any immediate route to another team. He is under team control through the 2019 season.
Here’s more from around baseball as we wrap up a busy deadline day…
- The Marlins rejected offers for Dan Straily and Dee Gordon prior to the deadline, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. It initially appeared as though the Marlins weren’t going to be shopping Straily, though they apparently tested his market and drew interest from at least four teams, though none were willing to meet Miami’s high asking price. As for Gordon, several teams were under the impression that Gordon was available in a salary dump type of trade and thus offered little in the way of prospects for the second baseman. The Marlins, however, didn’t see Gordon’s remaining salary (just over $41MM) as onerous to give away for virtually nothing in return.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow tells reporters (including Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle) that the team was working on some potential trades that “at times I would’ve put them at 90 percent-plus that we were going to get them done.” Instead, the only deal Houston made was to acquire Francisco Liriano, a much lower-profile move than some of the trades made by other World Series contenders at the deadline. Outfield prospect Derek Fisher was asked about in almost every possible deal, Luhnow said.
- Several high-salaried Tigers players were mentioned in trade whispers, though only some relatively small contracts or pending free agents were moved by GM Al Avila in deadline trades. Avila told the Detroit Free Press’ Anthony Fenech and other reporters that the roster reshuffling wasn’t about cutting costs. “I do not have a mandate to dump salary. Never have, and I won’t have it and I’ve been told it will never happen. So that’s a tremendous thing,” Avila said. The Tigers already have over $140MM on the books for 2018 — assuming they pick up Ian Kinsler’s option and that Justin Upton does not opt out of his contract — though some of that salary could end up being pared back via winter trades, even if payroll considerations don’t strictly demand it.
- The Indians figure to be active on the waiver front in August, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines, since the club didn’t address its primary deadline needs of a utility infielder or left-handed reliever. The Tribe didn’t want to meet the asking price for the likes of Justin Wilson and Brad Hand, though Hoynes notes that the team did “push hard” for Orioles closer Zach Britton. Cleveland is currently going with recent waiver claim Tyler Olson as the situational lefty in the pen, with star southpaw Andrew Miller reserved for a more prominent setup or multi-inning role.
Profar went from a blue chip piece three or four years ago to a Triple A piece that can’t defend or bat in the majors, he has nothing to complain about.
He has plenty to complain about. The Rangers have so badly mishandled him that they may have destroyed his career. They have not had a position for him to play in years. You can’t keep bringing up a prospect and continuously stick him in positions he is not suited for. Most prospects would fail in that situation. They need to let him go or find a way of getting him on the big league team at 2nd or short.
They actually traded Kinsler and opened up a space for him at second and he got hurt. He then rushed back and reinjured his shoulder, was advised to get surgery but waited another 6 months before doing it. At that point he had no trade value but also no position. Just bad circumstances. And on the flip side, had he not gotten injured, Odor never gets his shot so then we are having the same conversation about another player.
Amen u nailed it !!! Profar should be dissatisfied! Rangers have wasted his talent ! I’m a HUGE Ranger Fan I love love my Team but things are not good !!!!
Seems like the Rangers do, though.
Profar stinks and complains about not being traded? Makes sense.
Profar doesn’t stink. He tears it up in the minors but when he is brought up he is stuck in positions he is not suited for and doesn’t play well. The team would not keep him and other teams wouldn’t be checking in on him if he stinks. There is huge potential there.
If the Indians were looking for a utility infielder, why didn’t they go after Profar. It would not have cost them much, and the Rangers could have been rid of him!
Because the Rangers probably didn’t want to give him away for next to nothing, and because the current version of Profar isn’t better than Erik Gonzalez is
Because Profar stinks.
Profar’s only value is for another fallen star type with 2 years of control left. How is this guy anything more than a Nick Franklin, DJ Peterson, Jacob Turner. The Cingrani/Van Slyke trade is a perfect example. Shocked that the Rangers value him so much, if there is no real spot for him, have a little class and give him a chance to make some money with another org.
Van Slyke wasnt a star but he had 2 good seasons being bench player, if Reds give some playing time i think he can help them, but i understand your point We did that with Zach Lee we got an unknown Taylor and he turn awesome for us
From service time to development, I can’t think of a better case of a team completely mishandling a blue-chipper than the Rangers with Jurickson Profar. He or Drew Robinson should probably be the Texas 2B right now. And Mazara finished last season with 1.000 service time, should never happen with a top prospect. Batting third everyday, but should be bottom third, and possibly platooned. While Gallo OPS .810-.840 batting 8th and 9th(behind Lucroy, Odor, Napoli…). And Odor batting 5th with a WRC+ that would fail a high school test… No Darvish. I’m sorry folks, I guess I had to get that out.
It’s not the Rangers’ fault Profar’s arm fell off the second he was given a full-time gig at the big league level … or that Profar has been a disaster at the plate every time he’s been given semi-regular playing time with the big club.
The only thing I fault the Rangers for in the Profar saga is choosing him over Kinsler in 2014 — and refusing to trade him every offseason since.
Cannot blame the Rangers for the injury, tough luck for Texas and Profar right there. They did, though, start his service clock at nineteen years old, jumping him from AA Frisco even though there were long-term midfielders already entrenched(Andrus and Kinsler). And Ron Washington loved his vets, and we all knew that already… He should have been traded as soon as they extended Elvis, who plays near every game every year. Instead he became a dang utility player, playing eveywhere but his natural and most valuable position. Nobody except Colorado attempts to have a natural capable SS(Hanley doesn’t count) man 1B. Profar flopped at his MLB chances, but he wasn’t exactly set up to succeed either… Sad that it ends up another cautionary prospect tale, at least for now.
And the Ragners got the short end that his service time kept clicking away while he was injured since he was an MLB player at that time.
Nailed it pal. Also, JD had a chance to trade Profar several years ago in a package for Stanton and passed.
I could not agree with you more.
It’s frustrating I agree. I also wish Deshields was out there more often…he’s batting .275 with a ton of stolen bases and has shown he’s a catalyst when played consistently
Lol if Profar wants to be traded or get playing time, maybe he should prove he can do more than nothing at the MLB level. He’s not exactly providing the Rangers with a leg to stand on in any potential talks
How can he prove that if he doesn’t get an opportunity? The Rangers basically messed him up when they signed Andrus long term. Of course injuries played a big part as well, but even if he wasn’t hurt his position was filled long term in Texas. The Rangers did both him and themselves a disservice by not trading him soon after signing Andrus long term.
He’s been given opportunities. Hit poorly every time. Could’ve been our 2B but was so poor he allowed Odor to come in and take it. People can blame Texas for moving him around or not trading him in the past, but a lot of Profar’s problem fall on his shoulders. You have to perform and he just hasn’t.
There is no denying that Profar has not seized what little opportunity there has been for him. But it was not because his play was “poor” that Odor got the job and 2nd. It was due to injury. Which obviously is not the Rangers fault. What is there fault is the way he has been handled since then. It would be nice if he had been able to play other positions but it has been repeatedly proven he does not thrive at them. When you have an elite talent, and there is no denying that is what he had, you find a way to profit from it. Not try and shoehorn him into something is not suited for. They could have traded him, Andrus or Odor and made the team better.
I’m assuming you meant nothing more he can do at the minor league level, and he’s pretty much done that this year. He’s hitting .300 with more walks than strikeouts while playing what looks to be a solid SS. What else do you want him to do?
Do it at the major league level?
I’d like him to not be one of the worst hitters in baseball when he gets yet another shot at the major league level, and I’d like him to not cry about playing time until he proves he’s not one of the worst hitters in Major League Baseball. Maybe I’m asking too much.
And i would like to see him get a shot at his natural position and see how well he does. Not being forced to fight through playing a position he is uncomfortable with and at the same time try get get comfortable at the plate.
He may technically be under club control through 2019. But he will be out of options after this season. If they need to send him down, he would need to clear waivers first.
And that is only if he is tendered a contract. There is always the chance he is a non-tender.
That’s true, but unlikely. He’s only making a million this year, and whatever raise he gets in arbitration doesn’t seem like it would be too significant. They’re better off hoping that he figures things out and starts to produce in the majors. That then gives them the option of keeping him or trading him and getting at least something in return.
Why Profar want to be out of Rangers? only for being send to AAA? i think the best for him is wait to sept and try to show to His team he can doit at ml level
He wants out because the Rangers have screwed him over, and have someone that plays his natural position signed for the next five years.
Lower profile is the understatement of the year/ postseason!!?? I like Francisco , but , really??? NL pitcher these days and that’s the answer to a lefty bullpen problem!
The Rangers are scared Profar turns into next Chris Davis- change of scenery and then offensive explosion and everyone asking why they let him go. Also with the mid infield set, why hasn’t Profar taken it on himself to learn another position? If he wants to be there bad enough, he’ll do whatever it takes to get on the field.
As evidenced by the Profar for Brad Hand trade proposals that were frequent on this site, Texas fans still over value him. As to why he doesn’t take it upon himself to learn a new position, that’s easy. He’s an employee. He does what he is told. Texas knows his bat won’t play at every position. They write the lineup, so he plays where he plays. He may very well have learned to play other positions, but we won’t know unless the lineup card let’s us.
He has played virtually everywhere except catcher.
The Tigers have something like 42 MM coming off the books. How will that put them over the luxury tax? Is it going down?
The article’s inaccurate to presume that. For luxury tax purposes, Detroit’s 2018 payroll projects to be ~$140-145M, before arb salaries and FA signings. (This assumes Detroit picks up Kinsler’s $10M option, which it will.) Iglesias and Castellanos (~$9-12M combined) are the only noteworthy arb-eligible dents, with the other arb salaries likely to total ~$10M or less. For the time being, that places Detroit at least $30M under the 2018 luxury tax threshold ($197M).
I agree, I’ll edit.
Let me wildly speculate for a minute. Rangers won’t admit it yet but the rebuild has begun. I think Beltre sees writing on the wall and likely asks to be moved to a contender in off-season. JD loves Beltre and will oblige his request. That opens up 3b for Profar next year to either sink or swim.
It doesn’t make any sense to sell low on the guy just because he’s complaining.
Gallo would take over 3B in that situation
JD had a chance to trade him in a package for Stanton several years ago and passed.
Don’t believe everything you read. Stanton has never been available.
While I highly doubt the above trade was seriously considered, Stanton was talked about in trades according to the leaked trade documents in the Astro-Cardinal mess
I still think Profar could turn into a decent utility player at the major league level. He needs a change of scenery. I was hoping the DBacks would make a trade for Profar and Kela, which would have fit both of their needs. They would’ve cost more than Rosales/Hernandez however, so I can’t complain
Luhnow and Preller are the 2 big losers at this year’s trade deadline.
Wait until the end of the World Series before we declare winners and losers. This time last year Daniels was a “winner” bc he snagged Lucroy from MIL… how did that one work out?
Behind Al Avila of course.
Quintana now a cub for a little bit. Grey and Darvish finally moved. What will the next mlbtr chat consist of?
kinda surprised rays let go of Beckham
van slyke getting closer to pittsburgh!!!
Profar is more valuable in AAA as injury insurance and organizational depth. His trade value is just slightly greater than zero. It appears the only way he might be traded this winter is if he becomes a complete malcontent and organizational distraction. It appears he and his agent might have decided to institute this strategy. Although, his opportunity certainly may come if the Rangers tear it all down and play for the #1 pick–and Profar certainly could help racking up losses.
I actually would not mind having profar In a blue jays uniform playing second he can’t do any worse than the crap were playing there now and to be honest he really isn’t ever going to have a starting position for the rangers so why keep stuck and that is on the rangers front office as much as the injuries were. Also lets be honest it’s really hard for young players to sit on the bench and only play 2-3 times a week
matt klentak deserves some kind of award for making two seperate deadline deals to send pitchers to teams who actually arent in the playoff race, with Hellickson to Baltimore and Benoit to Pirates.
Lol and Rangers fans thought they could trade this underperforming clubhouse malcontent for Brad Hand.