The Rockies have released outfielder Jurickson Profar, The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders reports (X link). Profar’s spot on the roster will be taken by prospect Hunter Goodman, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A. Goodman’s impending big league promotion was first reported yesterday by the Blake Street Banter X feed.
Profar’s tenure in the Mile High City ends after 111 games, 472 plate appearances, and a disappointing .236/.316/.364 slash line. Only three qualified hitters have a lower wRC+ in 2023 than Profar’s 72 wRC+, and his -1.9 fWAR is the lowest of any qualified hitter in baseball. It wasn’t at all what Profar or the Rockies were hoping when they agreed to a one-year, $7.75MM free agent deal back in March, and Colorado has now chosen to part ways with Profar entirely in order to open up more time for younger players.
Today’s news will again put a spotlight on Profar’s decision to enter the free agent market last winter, as he opted out of the final year of his previous contract with the Padres in search of a longer-term and more lucrative pact. However, the market didn’t deliver such a deal, and Profar ended up having to wait until the middle of March to sign with Colorado. Between his Rockies salary and the $1MM buyout he received from opting out, Profar ended up making a bit more money than if he’d just remained in his Padres contract for a $7.5MM salary for the 2023 season, yet it is hard to view the situation as a win given Profar’s season-long struggles.
The long wait in free agency likely contributed to those struggles, as Profar didn’t really have much of a Spring Training, though he did get some high-level competition while playing for the Netherlands during the World Baseball Classic. Rockies manager Bud Black also recently said that Profar had been “been battling that [left] knee for a little,” so it possible this nagging injury might have been a factor in Profar’s lack of production.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that Profar’s 2023 fortunes might have been different if he’d stayed in San Diego, had a full spring, or stayed healthy. Given the up-and-down nature of Profar’s career, his dropoff this season can’t be viewed as a total surprise, as Profar’s last six seasons have alternated positive wRC+ numbers to below-average offensive production. His solid work with the Padres in the shortened 2020 season led to his re-signing with the club on a three-year, $21MM free agent deal that winter, though Profar again didn’t hit well in 2021, which led him to decline his first opt-out opportunity in the 2021-22 offeason. He then bounced back to hit .243/.331/.391 over 658 PA in 2022, translating to an 111 wRC+ and 2.6 fWAR, and giving Profar the confidence to test the open market again.
With this in mind, Profar might well rebound for another good year in 2024, though it is possible he might be able to catch on with another club before this season is out. Despite his rough numbers this year, his track record of success as recently as 2022 and his past status as an elite prospect might still catch the attention of a club in need of outfield depth. Signing Profar would cost a team only a prorated minimum salary, as the Rockies are on the hook for the remainder of the $7.75MM owed.
Goodman is set to make his MLB debut today, suiting up at catcher in Colorado’s lineup. The 23-year-old has an interesting defensive skillset, as he has seen plenty of time as a catcher, first baseman, and left fielder over his three professional seasons. However, Goodman’s power bat is what punched his ticket to the majors, as he is hitting .259/.338/.581 with 34 homers over 467 combined PA at Double-A and Triple-A. Goodman has only 15 games and 67 PA under his belt with Triple-A Albuquerque, but he has a 1.321 OPS over his brief stint with the Rockies’ top affiliate.
A fourth-round pick for the Rox in the 2021 draft, Goodman is ranked 10th by Baseball America and 12th by MLB Pipeline in their listings of Colorado’s best prospects. There is no doubt about his power potential, as BA’s scouting report gives him a 70-grade in power and notes that Goodman “produces big-time bat speed with a violent, leveraged swing.” This pop has helped Goodman be very productive at the plate despite a relatively lacking average and OBP, as he still need more overall polish to his approach. Defensively, Goodman can play multiple positions but he might top out at average whenever he lines up on the diamond.
With the Rockies well out of contention, the team has looked to several youngsters early in their big league careers in order to get a head start on evaluations heading into 2024. If Goodman can hit well in his first trip to the Show, he’ll earn consideration as an interesting bench or part-time option heading into next season, as he wouldn’t be relegated to only backup duty behind starting catcher Elias Diaz.
Farhan smells fresh meat
You beat me to it.
Fresh meat? Smells more like dead fish…
That’s so Rockies
Profar has been next to garbage. Only 2 other qualified players have been worst in the entire league. Your reading comprehension is not your strong suit but that’s most of America.
Profar to Mets, 5/$125.
But he couldn’t miss!
We heard on this site what a great free agent he was and people were fools not to sign him even as they let him hang out there forever.
Turns out they might have known something after all.
Someone will grab him as a bench bat for the playoffs.
So he can strike out in a critical situation? No thanks.
No they won’t. His career is likely over.
No his career isn’t likely over. Someone will pick him up
Time for Japan
Lol. Former consensus number 1 pick that Texas should have traded for Justin Upton/David Price/Zach Greinke to help with a playoff push
The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation
And it looks like I’m the queen
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn’t keep it in, heaven knows I tried
Don’t let them in, don’t let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know
Well, now they know
Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don’t care what they’re going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me can’t get to me at all
It’s time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me
I’m free
Let it go, let it go
I am one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go
You’ll never see me cry
Here I stand and here I stay
Let the storm rage on
My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I’m never going back, the past is in the past
Let it go, let it go
And I’ll rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand in the light of day
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
I could almost hear as I read , all of Zeppelin’s Kashmir with new lyrics… but I guess it’s some other tune I’m not familiar with.
Your’s is a much much better song, but not nearly as on-the-nose.
Edp a 60 yr old dude. Run DM a 9 yr old girl
Who has catfished you, @DumpsterDivinTheo? Or is this Wander?
Sorry, too soon.
Big Frozen fan I see. Posting the lyrics to the entire song was definitely a nice touch instead of the usual post, I’d give two thumbs up if I could.
Think you mean *prospect (not pick). He wasn’t drafted
Think you mean former # 1 *prospect (not pick)
I’ll take Overpriced guys out of baseball or who play for the Royals for $100
In 2012…
His line was disappointing from the beginning but for some reason Bud Black still had him leading off most of the time. Always good to start off the game with a weak grounder to second.
Profar to the Rangers
Nooooo! Never!
He could just be a really old version of Zeke Duran.
Nah. Duran = Odor
Shouldn’t have signed him in the first place, and they should have known that. But Profar is a symptom of a bigger problem in COL. The organization is in desperate need of a rebuild, but they don’t have the talent on the roster to do that. And so the band plays on.
They got rid of him (really late) to give playing time to younger guys, that’s at least a step in the right direction? But yeah…it’s gonna be a rough few years for any Rockies fan that actually cares about the team winning games and isn’t somehow satisfied with purgatory.
Sadly, the Marlins can sign him right now and stick him at SS, and he’d still be an upgrade at SS for us.
Small sample size at AAA, but 9 HR in 15 games!!! 35RBI in 18 games!!! He should at the very least be their platoon or full time 1b next season and part time backup C.
Goodman hit 25 bombs in AA this year, too. He’s leading all of the minors in HR’s, and is only 23 years old. K’s a fair bit but this guy hits absolute missiles. Dodgers AAA team could not get him out this week, at all.
The Guardians have been doing a lot of veteran dumpster diving since the trade deadline, so maybe they’d be a fit. Might as well block more young guys from getting at bats lol
You want Avi Garcia? He’s got plenty of experience at taking ABs away from young players like Jesus Sanchez and Brian De La Cruz, and secondarily as accomodation results, the likes of others we’ve brought up this year who could’ve been playing CF and moving Jazz to SS. Avi’s got skills in the blocking and taking ABs away from younger players.
You got any other big contracts you want to send our way?
Profar is basically having his normal year except that hes hitting in Coors instead of Petco which automatically lowers his WAR, which I disagree with. A team will pick him up. Just because someone can’t hit at Coors doesn’t make them a bad hitter
You disagree that the same raw numbers at Coors and Petco represent different performances? Wow.
His point wasn’t just about the part of how advanced stats differ in the parks despite similar numbers. His point was more about, just because someone can’t hit in one park doesn’t mean he can’t hit in another. It’s a human element part he’s referring to. As much as stats guys like to clutch onto what the stats gods tell them, this game is played by human beings, with all the perfections and flaws that come with that – including the psychological stuff among many of the other intangible or unquantifiable elements of being a human being instead of a video game robot or A.I.-driven simulation database.
Read that again, “automatically lowers his WAR, which I disagree with”. Seamaholic’s interpretation is correct, given the way the sentence is constructed.
@flamingbagofpoop
See the last sentence…”Just because someone can’t hit at Coors doesn’t make them a bad hitter”
It helps to read the whole post.
You can always just look at his bWAR and OPS+ instead of of fWAR and wRC+. Baseball reference doesn’t take the stadium players play in like FanGraphs does. I prefer FanGraphs’ stats because the stadium actually matters. When Profar plays in Coors Field he is playing directly against other players who are playing in Coors Field so that’s why FanGraphs take that into account. It matters in the wins-column. The real question is: Why would Coors Field make Profar a worse hitter? It makes almost everyone else a better hitter and when he plays there that’s who he is competing against. The large outfield with all the balls dropping also gives outfielders a better chance to rack up defensive WAR. But either way you can just check out Baseball Reference instead of FanGraphs if you don’t like the stadium-to-stadium calculations.
wRC+ (which includes the Coors effect) says Profar has a wRC+ of 72 which makes him 28% worse than the average major league hitter. As a result, it makes him worth -1.9 Wins Above Replacement according to FanGraphs.
OPS+ (which ignores the stadium and Coors effect) says Profar has a OPS+ of 76 which still makes him 24% worse than the average major league hitter. The difference in wins is only about a fifth of a win. Baseball Reference doesn’t count the stadium effect and he still only has -1.7 Wins Above Replacement.
So, you can just check baseball reference if you don’t like stadium influence being calculated in his value but he’s pretty terrible either way. An OPS+ of 76 and -1.7 Wins Above Replacement is very terrible and not much better than the stats that adjust for the stadium he plays in.
Basically, Profar has just been awful no matter where he plays this season. The anticipated Coors effect only makes it a little worse but not noticeably worse. And keep in mind that when Profar plays in Coors he is playing against other hitters who are playing in the same place. So, if their stats go up in Coors and his go down in Coors it definitely makes a difference in the outcome of the game. That’s why FanGraphs calculates that in. But like I said, OPS+ and bWAR do not calculate that in and his OPS+ and bWAR are still terrible. He’s just having an awful season no matter what way you slice it. The fact that it’s happening in Coors only makes it worse a little worse but not noticeably worse. 4% on hitting and .2 WAR are very small numbers and that’s the only difference between considering which stadium he plays in or not.
With those stats Im sure Reinsdorf would want him on the White Sox.
He’s basically limited to LF only and has no skill he excells at. It would have to be an emergency to put him back in the IF for even a few innings. If you look at his average season, there are not many prospects with lower ceilings, so why wouldn’t you try the prospect as a less expensive option, as the Rockies did, before signing this player?
I recall when he came up , was media darling , next superstar type , lots of hype , some injuries yes, but what a disappointment of a career with that skill set.
He has somehow accumulated 3574 pas, while only contributing 4.2 fwar. That’s 0.7 / 600pa. How has he gotten so many opportunities?
Not so long ago that this site and many of its commenters thought Profar was the absolute answer to the Yankees left field woes……in reality, trading for him would have just piled on to their overall athletic deficient situation with just another over the hill….pretty much done player who wasn’t the solution but just more of the problem……just goes to show all of us arm chair GM’s really don’t have all the answers do we…..and I include myself if you noticed…..LOL
Now send Toglia down so Montero and Goodman both have ABs.
::checks lineup, sees Montero back to the bench::
Too late this year but I can see him back with the Pads n ‘24
One of those guys with a lower wRC+ has to be Javy Baez, right?
Yeah, Baez and Tim Anderson are tied for last with 61.
As a cubs fan, it’s rough to see Baez this bad. I figured he’d fall off a cliff shortly, but not this hard, this fast.
Didn’t even know Profar was DFA’d lol. Should go play LF for Mets, couldn’t be any worse than Ortega.
The power bat would indicate more than just as a bench bat if it translates at the big league level.
The San Diego Padres of 2022 have had 3 starting players DFA this year.. Wil Myers/Eric Hosmer and now Profar.. 3 Starters designated for assignment the following year?? Must be some sort of record and also indicative of the mess that still exists in San Diego this year
A classy move by the Rockies, because it provides Profar with a chance to join a team in contention for post-season play before the August 31st deadline.
He’s been the least valuable qualified player in MLB this year…I don’t think post season play is in his immediate future.
At least they got a Goodman to replace him
I loved Hunter Goodman on MTV in the 80s.