After missing the past two years due to injuries, former top prospect Jurickson Profar is back on the radar. Profar had a solid showing in the Arizona Fall League this year, and was named to the All-AFL team by Mike Rosenbaum of MLB.com.
“Profar is finally beginning to look like the same player who ranked as baseball’s unanimous top prospect in 2013 before a shoulder injury limited him to just 12 games over the past two seasons. He’s lost a step and has been limited to DH duties, but the 22-year-old’s approach, contact skills and power are all still there.”
“While the switch-hitter’s .267 average in 20 games isn’t particularly impressive, he consistently worked deep counts and made hard contact from line to line, and his 20 RBIs were one off the league lead.”
The Mets have been linked to Profar in the past, but a trade seems unlikely to happen now since he is still working his way back to full strength
A scout told Joel Sherman of the NY Post that the Rangers will ask for full value back, which is something that no team will consider.
“I like Profar, but if you are Texas, you have to ask full value for him, and how could you give up full value for a player who we don’t know yet if he can throw?”
Rangers’ General Manager Jon Daniels also publicly stated that they want Profar to rebuild his value and that they aren’t looking to trade him.
“We are not looking to trade him,” Daniels said. “We held onto him this long. We are pretty optimistic his shoulder is fit. The mindset is to wait and see where he is. We believe he will get back to his value, which was one of the best young players out there.”
However, Daniels may eventually be tempted to deal him as they are set up the middle with Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor. The market for a shortstop/second baseman like Profar is also very thin, so he could be in high demand around the league.
The Mets should be one of the team’s interested since they are rumored to be shopping for a shortstop. While his stock has dropped considerably in recent years, the 22-year old Profar is still an intriguing target for the Front Office to think about.
Prior to the 2013 season, Profar was considered the best prospect in all of baseball. He was ranked number one overall by Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus.
