The San Diego Padres continued their busy offseason on Monday by making a trade with the Oakland Athletics to acquire shortstop Jurickson Profar.
San Diego, which has already signed Drew Pomeranz to a free-agent deal as well as acquiring Zach Davies and Trent Grisham from the Milwaukee Brewers, now have a player that profiles as the team’s starting second baseman heading into the 2020 season.
They have given up catcher Austin Allen, who struggled in his big league debut with San Diego but hit .330 with 20 home runs at AAA last year, in exchange for the 26-year-old Curacao native.
The hole left by dealing Luis Urias in the team’s trade with the Brewers last week needed to be filled somehow and the acquisition of Profar appears to do just that.
Oakland was expected to non-tender Profar after a disappointing 2019 season had they not found a trade partner for him. Profar hit only .218 in 139 games with Oakland last season, but he did slug 20 home runs and collect 67 RBI.
This will be Profar’s third Major League team in three seasons, as he spent the previous years of his career in the Texas Rangers organization.
Once considered a top prospect, Profar will have another chance to break out in San Diego, possibly his last as a starting player if he does not show improvements.
