Texas Rangers trade rumors: Jurickson Profar of interest to New York Yankees

Texas Rangers trade rumors: The New York Yankees are interested in Texas Rangers shortstop Jurickson Profar, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman says that the Yankees have a crowded 40 man roster situation, and with the deadline for adding players in advance of the Rule 5 draft approaching, would be “willing to take on a single player with upside and pedigree” as part of a deal to address some of their excess. Sherman says that the Rangers are interested in Yankees pitchers who are on the 40 man roster bubble.

This is an interesting development, and one that is unexpected, since the Yankees have Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro at their middle infield spots, and thus there’s no clear path for Profar to play every day. Profar also hasn’t responded well to irregular playing time at numerous positions, so acquiring him to fill a utility role could be problematic.

Still, Profar does have the upside and pedigree, and probably needs a fresh start with a new organization. Profar publicly said in 2016 he wanted to be an every day shortstop in 2017, got demoted in April after starting the season as part of a left field rotation, and there were whispers he reacted badly after not being dealt at the trade deadline on July 31, resulting in him landing on the 7 day d.l. in the minors. Profar also is reportedly filing a grievance against the Rangers for not calling him up in September, a move that resulted in Profar ending the year just short of four years of service time, meaning he can’t be a free agent until after the 2020 season.

The Rangers have a lot of interesting prospects who are Rule 5 eligible this offseason, but as we discussed last week, they aren’t exactly in a 40 man roster crunch, and have the flexibility to potentially do a two-for-one type deal to send Profar out for multiple relief arms.

Or, as always this time of year, this could be a way to try to stir up additional trade interest in Profar, in an effort to get, say, the Padres to sweeten what they are willing to offer.