Insider Floats Padres First-Time All-Star As Possible Impact Signing For Red Sox

Would this signing pay off for the Red Sox offense?

May 24, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; San Diego Padres hats in the dugout during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images / Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Any and all improvements are on the table for the Boston Red Sox entering this pivotal offseason.

Three straight years without a postseason berth is unacceptable, and the Red Sox front office knows it. Boston will be hell-bent on making it back to October in 2025, and that starts with improving the roster in this winter's free agency.

Lineup balance is of particular concern to the Red Sox, as most of the team's best hitters are left-handed. A righty power bat is clearly near the top of the offseason priority list, but what about adding a switch-hitting All-Star?

San Diego Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar will be a free agent this winter and could be a name the Red Sox consider. Chris Cotillo of MassLive floated the idea of the Red Sox signing Profar, who bats slightly better from the right side, earlier this week.

Cotillo said in order for Profar to join the Red Sox, they would likely need to trade designated hitter Masataka Yoshida and prioritize Profar over fellow free agent Tyler O'Neill.

"A Yoshida trade would seem to vastly increase the chances that O’Neill comes back — though the Sox might be rushed into a type of decision with him with the deadline to make the $21.2 million qualifying offer due shortly after the World Series — or that another right-handed slugger (could... a switch-hitter like Jurickson Profar... fit?) takes his spot," Cotillo said.

Profar, 31, will be one of the most interesting free agents to monitor this winter. After a horrific 2023 season with the Colorado Rockies, he returned to his former team, the Padres, on a one-year, $1 million contract. No one could have predicted what would come next.

Profar lit the majors on fire, especially in the first half of the season. His .839 season OPS was a career-high by more than 100 points, and he hit four more home runs (24) than he had in any other season of his career.

As great as Profar was, though, he was undoubtedly worse in the second half, posting a .794 OPS compared to .870 before the All-Star break. That's still a solid number, but combined with his mediocre career performance before this season, it's hard not to wonder whether Profar can be counted on to produce like a star in 2025.

Should the Red Sox take the risk of signing him, they might get some of the best value money can buy for a player with All-Star talents. But if they're looking for sure things, it would be hard-pressed to call Profar one of them.

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