Still think the Rangers have the guts to trade Jurickson Profar?? Profar just launched his 1st homer in over two years against the Cleveland Indians Tuesday. With Colby Lewis throwing another gem and getting the win (7-3 Final) against a hot Indians club, lost is Profar hitting (.368) with 5 runs scored and more importantly showing his stellar defense at 2nd base during Rougned Odor’s suspension. Now I understand we’re talking about 19 AB’s and he’s here short-term but to me he looks healthy and ready to contribute. Would the Rangers consider trading the former #1 prospect in baseball? It would be enticing to see what teams might throw the Rangers direction but Jon Daniels needs to proceed with caution.
I’m sure teams might be hesitant due to his injury history and limited time in the bigs. Texas has a few options here with him but might be running short on time. Profar when healthy is too valuable to sit the bench so its understandable to have him get experience in AAA, but at some point you’ve got to see what he can do for an extended period. His Defense has always been stellar, the only question mark is how healthy can his shoulder be going forward. With the emergence of Odor at 2nd and the veteran Elvis Andrus at shortstop where do you play Profar? Before the season it was widely talked about that if Elvis struggled we could see Profar play some games at short for Texas. My theory is Elvis finally got it going amid all the Profar talk and solidified his position to this point. Now moving forward we will see if Andrus can keep up the hot bat (.293/.341/.737). History says no and his numbers have declined the past 3 seasons but this looks to be a player on a mission to prove doubters wrong.
Moving forward I think he continues to improve while in RoundRock and might cause Texas to make a tough decision this year if teams come calling. If anything happens to Odor or Elvis this year, the front office won’t hesitate to call up Profar in their absence and feel comfortable in doing so.
I don’t see the front office moving Elvis this season, so that makes Profar the odd man out unfortunately. Unlink Joey Gallo, who’s playing multiple positions, Profar is only a middle infielder and we all know he’s too valuable to be a “bench” or “role” player. It would be wise for Texas to hold onto Profar unless some team blows them away, because you never know when Andrus may hit that wall hard and continue his poor defensive play he’s shown in recent seasons.
Let’s just say the Trade Deadline will be very interesting for the Rangers since they are in sole possession of first place and look to be there in July as well. Profar has higher upside than Andrus in my opinion and if the injury bug hadn’t of hit him hard, I think we would have a new shortstop for Texas either last season or now!
“I like how we’re going as a team,” Profar said. “I will do anything I can to help them win, whatever that is. When the decision comes, that is up to them.”
“Right now, we’re just playing baseball games and going day to day,” Banister said. “We continue to plan and look at all scenarios, but we’re truly just in a day-to-day mode right now. There is a long time until [Saturday].”
We shall see skip…