We saw a couple young stars emerge in a big way last season when Mike Trout and Bryce Harper showcased exactly why they’re the future of baseball.
The Texas Rangers may have waited until the end of the season to debut star prospect Jurickson Profar, but in the limited time he saw the infielder gave Rangers fans plenty of reason for optimism up the middle.
Profar isn’t currently listed as a starting shortstop for Texas, as they still have Elvis Andrus on the roster and can give him more time to develop, but the logjam in the infield has also put baseball’s top-rated prospect in trade rumors of all sorts.
One recent notion brought up by ESPNs Keith Law would be sending Profar to Tampa Bay in exchange for ace David Price.
Moves involving such highly touted prospects rarely come to fruition, though the notion of a trade addressing needs on both sides does give it some legs.
The offseason wasn’t overly kind to the Rangers, who had their sights set on addressing the top end of their rotation by pulling ace Zack Greinke away from the Los Angeles Angels.
Greinke would remain in Los Angeles, and while Texas can take some relief in knowing that it’s with the Dodgers instead of the Angels, they’re still left with some question marks in the starting rotation after Yu Darvish and Derek Holland.
In that respect adding Price would make sense, but Profar has the makings of a perennial All-Star, and since the Rays would likely need additional compensation to part with one of the best pitchers in the league, the price may be too rich for the Rangers.
With Tampa Bay you’re looking at a team that’s had one of the most underrated rotations in baseball in recent years with Price, James Shields and recently Jeremy Hellickson leading the way, with Matt Moore and Jeff Niemann also in the mix.
Offseason shuffling changed that, though, as the Rays moved Shields to Kansas City in a trade that would bring highly touted outfield prospect Wil Myers over in an effort to fill the hole left by B.J. Upton’s departure.
Adding Profar in exchange for Price would give the team the best one-two prospect punch in the league along with Myers, though the hit to the rotation probably wouldn’t be worth it.
Hellickson has the makings of a pitcher who will dominate for years to come and Moore could very well follow the same path, but the notion of losing Shields and Price in one offseason may just be too much to swallow for Rays fans.
As mentioned, these deals rarely take shape, and I don’t see this rumor ending any differently. Then again, the blockbuster transactions we’ve seen in the past six months have proved that nothing is out of the realm of possibility.
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