Newcomer Profar in three-way battle for Padres’ 2B job
Tags: Major League Baseball, San Diego, MLB, Jurickson Profar, San Diego Padres

Newcomer Profar in three-way battle for Padres’ 2B job

Jurickson Profar

No one in baseball could have really been surprised last December when the Padres acquired middle infielder Jurickson Profar from the Oakland A’s.

Few in the game knew more about Profar — the person as well as the player — than Padres General Manager A.J. Preller.

Preller and the late Don Welke had scouted Profar for the Texas Rangers when Jurickson was a teenager in Curacao. The Rangers signed Profar off the reports from Preller and Welke.

And the pair of scouts were still with the Rangers as Profar developed into the top prospect in the Rangers system and were still with Texas when Profar made his Major League debut as a 19-year-old in 2012.

Preller’s interest in Profar didn’t end when A.J. became the general manager of the Padres in August of 2014.

Profar was considered not only one of the top prospects in the Rangers, but he was also ranked the №12 prospect in all the minor leagues in 2012. He had played in the All-Star Futures Game as both an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old.

When the Rangers promoted Profar to the Major Leagues on Sept. 2, 2012, he was the youngest player in the Major Leagues. His stock soared again when he homered in his first Major League at-bat.

But his stock was high even before he was a teenager. Profar was an 11-year-old member of the Curacao team that won the Little League World Series title in 2011. He returned to the Little League World Series in 2012 and pitched and played shortstop on the team that finished second.

It was as a pitcher that most Major League teams pursued Profar. But the Rangers pursued him as a shortstop, which is where Profar wanted to play.

The dream of being a regular shortstop in the Major Leagues ended when he missed the entirety of the 2014 and 2015 seasons with a shoulder injury that required surgery and forced Profar to restart in the minor leagues

But the switch-hitter showed what he could do offensively with the Rangers in 2018. He put up career-best numbers, batting .254 with a .335 on-base percentage and a .458 slugging percentage for a .793 OPS. He had 35 doubles, six triples and 20 homers for 77 RBIs, although he struggled at times on defense.

He also diversified as a utility playing, spending time at every infield spot plus left field and the designated hitter.

On Dec. 12, 2018, Profar went from the Rangers to Oakland as part of a three-way trade. With the A’s in 2019, Profar again hit 20 homers with 67 RBIs, although his slash line dipped to .218/.301/.410/.711. He again played all over the field.

Last December, the Padres sent two prospects — catcher Austin Allen and outfielder Buddy Reed — to Oakland to reunite the six-foot, 190-pound Profar and Preller.

As spring training continued this season, Profar was in a three-way race as the Padres second baseman with returning utility man Greg Garcia and veteran Brian Dozier, who signed a free-agent contract with the Padres after spring training opened. While Dozier is primarily a second baseman, Profar and Garcia each can play multiple positions.