Padres may not be done at second after Jurickson Profar acquisition

1 of 3

OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 22: Jurickson Profar #23 of the Oakland Athletics connects for a single during the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Ring Central Coliseum on September 22, 2019 in Oakland, California. The Rangers defeated the Athletics 8-3. (Photo by Stephen Lam/Getty Images) /

With the departure of highly touted prospect Luis Urias in last week’s trade, the San Diego Padres left themselves with a dilemma at second base for 2020.

Sure, there are multiple highly rated prospects in the minor league system that should one day give the San Diego Padres their second basemen to pair with Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. But who plays the position in 2020? Maybe even 2021?

General Manager AJ Preller took one step closer to answering that question on Monday with the acquisition of former Rangers top prospect Jurickson Profar.

The non-tender deadline stimulated trade activity all over MLB with the Padres jumping in to help resolve one of their biggest offseason questions.

Watching Profar play for the Rangers in 2018, one could be caught salivating over his skills. A switch-hitting infielder with good defensive movements and a strong arm, Profar also possessed enough power to keep pitchers honest.

Slashing .254/.335/.458 with 20 homers in 2018, his age 24 season, Profar was surprisingly traded to the Oakland Athletics in the offseason.

His 2019 did not impress.

Apparently acquiring a case of the yips early in the season, Profar had 13 errors at second base in 2019. He also struggled at the plate with a .218/.304/.410 batting line in 518 plate appearances.

This underwhelming performance going into his last arbitration-eligible season seems to have made him expendable for the A’s.

AJ Preller once again falls back on his Ranger days to trade for a player he is familiar with and helped acquire for Texas.

The Padres sent catcher Austin Allen and a player to be named later in the exchange. Allen is a bat first, power-hitting catcher with defensive liabilities, not unlike Francisco Mejia. Not someone that figured into the Padres future.

So the silver lining to Profar’s 2018?

His batting line versus lefties — .305/.378/.457. Even if he is unable to return to his 2018 form there is value in a platoon with utility infielder Greg Garcia.

Garcia hit .254/.320/.373 versus righties last season with a .743 OPS.

If Profar responds well to a change of scenery and coaching the Padres could catch lightning in a bottle to bridge them to the second baseman of the future.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – MARCH 23: Xavier Edwards of San Diego Padres tagged out in second base Ivan Terrazas of Diablos Rojos in the 2nd inning during a friendly game between San Diego Padres and Diablos Rojos at Alfredo Harp Helu Stadium on March 23, 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico. The game is held as part of the opening celebrations of the Alfredo Harp Helu Stadium, now the newest in Mexico to play baseball. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images) /

Who is that 2B of the future?

I have my own take on that, but it is safe to say that none of them will be beginning the season as the starter.

Of the four prospects in the system who are likely to be available to fill second base for the foreseeable future, none is as exciting to me as Xavier Edwards.

Others might be ready sooner but he has the highest upside and skills. At 20 years old, Edwards completed the 2019 season with Lake Elsinore with a .322/.375/.396 slash line and .771 OPS.

The #5 Padres prospect as ranked by MLB.com, Edwards is an advanced contact hitter with speed and strong defensive skills. He projects as a top of the order hitter with switch-hitting capability. But the ETA of 2022 does not put him in the Padres plans for the near future.

Owen Miller, the #10 prospect, finished last season with the Amarillo Sod Poodles and could be major league ready in 2020 but the Padres can’t afford to count on a rookie to come in and succeed immediately.

That was clearly demonstrated by Luis Urias both in 2018 and 2019. Miller, at 23 years old, is a plus runner and contact hitter with an average arm who hit .290/.355/.430 last season with a .785 OPS.

The other two top prospects, Tucupita Marcano and Esteury Ruiz, are both 20 years old and too far away in their development to know if the Padres have a major league player in either of them.

Marcano possesses the best tools at this point, with plus speed and contact ability.

Ruiz is raw and undisciplined with plus speed. It will be a year or two before it can be determined if he will develop into a real player, and that’s if he isn’t taken in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft.

SAN DIEGO, CA – JUNE 8: Ian Kinsler #3 of the San Diego Padres hits a double during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Petco Park June 8, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

Don’t forget about me

In the interest of completeness, we need to mention that Ian Kinsler is still on the Padres roster and was not released during the purging of the 40 man roster that occurred before the Rule V draft deadline.

That somewhat surprised me as that would have been an easy, though expensive, way to clear a roster spot.

After watching Kinsler struggle mightily during the first half of 2019, the Padres limited his second-half playing time and he was able to be a bit more productive.

His batting line of .217/.278/.368 for $3.75 million is overall non-productive and will not fit onto a roster fighting to turn itself into a playoff-contending team.

Profar is far younger with a lot more potential and Kinsler will be 38 this season. Barring anyone trading for him, which is unlikely, Kinsler can’t be allowed to take up a roster spot and must be designated for assignment or released before the end of spring training.

All of this leads me to wonder if Preller is done with shopping for a full-time second baseman for the 2020 season.

Seeing as he has more pressure on him to perform this coming year I would not be surprised to find him adding more depth at the position before we head into the season.

Some competition at second would hopefully bring out the best in all concerned and make the final decision more difficult for the organization.

Next. Who is next to go?. dark

I really would love to see the Jurickson Profar that the Rangers developed re-emerge. He would make the Padres much better in 2020 and who wouldn’t want to see the Machado, Tatis Jr, Profar, and Hosmer combination around the infield?

Home / Padres News

With the departure of highly touted prospect Luis Urias in last week’s trade, the San Diego Padres left themselves with a dilemma at second base for 2020.

Who is that 2B of the future?

Don’t forget about me

Schedule