Keep The Yankees Away From Jurickson Profar!

The Blue Jays should go after the former number one prospect in baseball, Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar. If you’ve listened to Birds All Day over the last few months, you’ll know that this is more of a Drew thing than it is mine, but it’s a good idea!

Such a good idea, in fact, that apparently the Yankees have had it too. Or so reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

The Yankees! Who already have all the infielders.

Fuck that, I say!

Profar, of course, has no place to play on a Texas club that already has Adrian Beltré, Elvis Andrus, and Rougned Odor as infield mainstays. Sherman points out that Beltré is a free agent at the end of 2018, and that Andrus could opt out of his deal (and since he stopped being trash two years ago, he just might!), so Profar could be used as long-term cover for those guys, but he also notes that Profar is out of options, so would need to keep a spot on the Rangers’ 25-man roster all year to avoid exposing him to waivers. Meaning, maybe Texas will deal him.

“It seems the Yankees would be willing to take on a single player with upside and pedigree in exchange for multiple players who are crowding their deep 40-man roster,” Sherman says, explaining that the Rangers might also have an inclination to deal, as they’re desperate for more pitching.

Well the Jays, who have their own roster crunch, could do that too! Granted, if the Rangers are looking for guys who could potentially start that would make it tougher, as the Jays covet starting depth themselves. But even so, to cheaply fill their need for a versatile middle infielder could be worth considering some of the arms currently on the 40-man or in limbo. Tom Koehler? Chris Rowley? Taylor Gurrieri? Tom Pannone? Francisco Rios? Angel Perdomo? Ryan Borucki? Maybe even Joe Biagini? A whole bunch of relief options, if the Rangers are looking for that. Conner Greene? Those names could intrigue!

Would the Jays actually do it? Would those pitchers intrigue enough for the Rangers to bite? It really depends on whether they think they’re going to be able to hang on to Profar through the season, and perhaps whether they think he’ll ever be anything for them, or if a change of scenery might not, by this point, be for the best.

I don’t think they’re just going to give a potentially valuable player away. Then again, for as much as there is to like about Profar — his versatility, the fact that he’s a switch hitter, the enormous potential he showed when he tore up A-ball and Double-A as an 18- and 19-year-old in 2011 and 2012 — we’re still talking about a guy who just hasn’t hit as a big leaguer. He’s 24 now, and holds a 72 wRC+ over 718 big league plate appearances. The price should be fairly palatable! And with MLBTR projecting his salary at $1.1 million, it would really free up resources for the Jays to address other roster needs.

Plus! Though there’s certainly the chance that Profar continues to struggle at the big league level, 1) the Jays wouldn’t necessarily be locked into playing him every day, and 2) with Lourdes Gurriel in the system, in a worst case scenario you give Profar a few months and then the push Gurriel a little faster than you maybe had planned.

Most importantly, keep the stinkin’ Yankees’ hands off a guy with this much upside available for potentially this cheap!

Sherman, in fact, singles the Jays out as the Yankees’ potential rivals in this purely hypothetical deal. Let’s make that a real thing!