Padres Rumors: ESPN Insider Provides Massive Update on Jurickson Profar's Free Agency

Valentina Martinez | Dec 20, 2024

Oct 9, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar (10) reacts after making a catch in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images / David Frerker-Imagn Images

San Diego Padres free agent Jurickson Profar is looking for at least a three-year deal in free agency, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Profar is coming off a strong season in San Diego where the outfielder slashed .280/.380/.459 and hit a career-high 24 home runs. He also hit 29 doubles and stole 10 bases. Additionally, Profar's energy and enthusiasm was undeniable for the Padres throughout his one season with the team.

Although Profar was a stellar acquisition by president of baseball operations A.J. Preller, the organization hopes to shed payroll this offseason. The goals of the organization indicate the Padres won't be reuniting with Profar.

Preller shared the Padres will likely be more active following the Winter Meetings, but nothing has transpired as of late.

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“We definitely have a lot of things that we were able to do and could line up on,” Preller said, via Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. “We’ll see where it all takes us in the next couple weeks. … Even though we haven’t lined up on anything from a trade or free-agent standpoint, it’s been super active. Way further ahead from a knowledge standpoint today than we were when we got here on Sunday.”

As teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants get stronger, the Padres haven't made decisions on free agents like Profar. The return of Profar would be expensive, but would, in turn, keep a star on the roster.

Padres manager Mike Shildt is confident the organization will stay creative in adding talent, while simultaneously spending less.

“We’re not naive that there are certain organizations that have just more competitive advantages,” Shildt said. “That’s no state secret, right? We live that every day. I can look at that, and we can look at that as, ‘Oh, woe is us. We don’t have the resources. We don’t have the flexibility. We don’t have the payroll or the income streams.’ And that can be absolutely accurate and factual, and it is. The reality from my seat, our clubhouse seat, our team seat is, it’s still a game that requires you to play right, compete a certain way, play the game a certain way. Clearly the more resources you have, the more talent you can accrue, and that’s real. Talent shows up. We can’t kid ourselves. But effectively it’s about how we’re going to figure out a way to compete and play the game right with the ability that we’ve been given.”