AJ Preller breathed life into Padres reunion with Jurickson Profar with big caveats

While the loss of Ha-Seong Kim was largely expected, the prospect of the San Diego Padres entering the 2025 season without Jurickson Profar has been a sore spot for fans during at the outset of the offseason. Profar was such a huge part of the success (and vibes) for the Padres in 2024, and now there is a real chance that he could be playing elsewhere after his career-season.

Both the Padres and Profar would love to stay together, but the reality is that he's never put together a season like we saw this past year. Given that performance, coupled with his age and injury concerns, matching a deal equal to what Profar could command on the open market could be tough.

However, Padres President of Baseball Operations AJ Preller was clear when talking at this year's GM Meetings that not all hope is lost. While Preller acknowledged that he didn't want to extend a qualifying offer (or any other one year deal), that decision doesn't "close the door" on a possible reunion with Profar.

Padres don't close the door on Profar return, but the devil is in the details

It is pretty obvious that the Padres still love Profar and would like for him to return. Without Profar, the Padres will need to find a new left fielder, and the odds that any replacement San Diego could afford would be as good as Profar are pretty low. Preller called him a big part of San Diego's success.

However, Preller was also realistic when he said, "I've already extended out the start of those conversations. But he's somebody that's earned the right to be a free agent, so we'll kind of see where that takes us."

On the one hand, the fact that the two sides have had dialogue is a good sign. However, Preller's comments also imply that it require a multiyear contract this time versus the one year bargain Profar signed 2024. San Diego doesn't seem to have much stomach to get into a bidding war for Profar this offseason.

Given the lack of top offensive players among free agents this offseason, there is a real chance that such a bidding war could break out. San Diego fans have to hope that other teams are wary of Profar's age, track record, and knee issues to the point where it suppresses his market. Otherwise, no amount of goodwill between Profar and the Padres is likely to keep him from signing elsewhere.

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