Why trading Profar was the Texas Rangers ‘move of the winter’

The Texas Rangers recently traded Jurickson Profar away for a handful of prospects likely making this their biggest move of the winter

Regardless as to whether the Texas Rangers trade away Mike Minor, the Jurickson Profar trade will likely go down as the team’s most significant move of the offseason. Being arguably the most valuable (and most affordable) player on the Rangers, Texas needed to maximize their returns with Profar. Including a third team did just that.

Over the weekend the Texas Rangers sent Jurickson Profar to the Oakland Athletics and minor league right-hander, Rollie Lacy, to the Tampa Bay Rays. In exchange they got left-handers Brock Burke and Kyle Bird, right hander Yoel Espinal, second baseman Eli White, and $750,000 of international allotments.

While none of these prospects can be considered a “sure thing”, a few of them carry with them enough talent and accomplishments to think they have a very reasonable chance of making a difference at the major league level.

Brock Burke, the top return in the Profar trade, was the Rays’ minor league pitcher of the year last season. In nine starts, Burke went 6-1 posting a 1.95 ERA and 0.958 WHIP. He took a huge step last season and looks like he could be a middle-of-the-rotation kinda talent one day soon.

So why would they trade him?

The Rays are returning a few Tommy John arms to the team at various points over this coming season and are subsequently facing a logjam with Burke rising up the charts. The Texas Rangers aren’t fortunate enough to have anything resembling a jogjam in the pitching prospect ranks, and welcome the hard throwing lefty.

Kyle Bird, 25, could find himself a middle relief role right out of the gates this season. He’s going to face some stiff competition but he should be given every opportunity to take the next step in his development. Espinal, 26, is older and less accomplished than you’d like but he helps the lower ranks (played Double-A last year) and still has enough to offer the Rangers down the road.

Middle infielder Eli White, 24, is the safest bet of them all. In 130 Double-A games last season he hit .306 with a .0838 OPS. He’s ready to take that next step and looks like he could be the Texas Rangers’ SS of the future (but versatile enough to play 2B and 3B).

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Can Mike Minor return more?

Minor is unlikely to approach the kind of return Profar did. He’s a valuable trade option but with such lower ceiling, he won’t garner huge compensation this winter. It’s possible (but not likely) the Texas Rangers hold onto Minor since he’s an affordable arm that will still have value at the 2019 trade deadline.

Gallo/Mazara

Joey Gallo or Nomar Mazara could fetch quite the hefty bounty if they’re moved, and while I think it would be in the club’s best interest to trade them for minor league prospects, their current value may not be what Jon Daniels needs to get fair return value

While all trades which include prospects as compensation are gambles, this was a gamble Jon Daniels and the Texas Rangers simply had to take. Expect more trades from the Rangers, just none as big as this one.

• Published on 12/26/2018 at 18:01 PM
• Last updated at 12/26/2018 at 14:12 PM