The football season is officially over, and much of the sports world now joins us in welcoming in the baseball season. Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to spring camp this week, with full-team workouts starting next week. We still await a handful of major free-agent signings, but there were some noteworthy transactions over the weekend. Let’s see what went down!
Padres sign Jurickson Profar
FanSided’s Robert Murray reported on Monday that the Padres signed Jurickson Profar to a one-year, $1 million deal. The contract has an additional $1.5 million in playing-time incentives. The 30-year-old veteran slashed .242/.321/.368 with nine homers, 55 runs, 46 RBI, and a stolen base across 521 plate appearances with the Rockies and Padres. Profar has served as a super-utility man for much of his career, playing all over the diamond. He’ll likely be utilized in the same role next season. The Padres have been in search of some outfield depth. That’s where most of Profar’s playing time will likely come. He finished out last season in San Diego, splitting time between left field and first base.
Profar’s best years came in 2018 and 2019, hitting 20 homers in back-to-back seasons. He had a bit of a resurgence in 2022, hitting 15 homers with 82 runs scored over a career-high 658 plate appearances with the Padres. He’s always displayed great plate discipline, with his walk rate being one of his best skills. And Profar makes a lot of contact. The problem has been his lack of power with the bat. With low hard-hit rates, Profar has never been able to generate high BABIPs, suppressing his batting average and home run totals. With no true standout skill for fantasy purposes, his fantasy utility is limited to the deepest leagues.
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Marlins acquire Nick Gordon from Twins
The Marlins traded reliever Steven Okert to the Twins on Sunday in exchange for infielder/outfielder Nick Gordon. The 28-year-old appeared in only 34 games last season before suffering a fractured right tibia on May 17. Gordon had a bit of a breakout in 2022, slashing .272/.316/.427 with nine homers and six steals across 443 plate appearances. In his limited time in the majors, he’s shown solid batted ball quality, with a career eight percent barrel rate and 43.8 percent hard-hit rate. Where he needs to improve has been his plate approach, as he’s shown a tendency to chase pitches out of the zone. Gordon will likely start the season in a utility role, getting regular at-bats as part of the outfield mix, perhaps as a strong-side platoon partner with Avisail Garcia at designated hitter. While he can be overlooked in typical mixed leagues, Gordon could be worth a dart throw as a reserve in deeper formats.
The move secures a bit more playing time for fellow left-handed hitters Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner in Minnesota with Gordon out of the picture. Julien made his major league debut last season, slashing .263/.381/.459 with 16 homers, 60 runs scored, 37 RBI, and three steals across 408 plate appearances. His passive approach at the plate earned him a whopping 15.7 percent walk rate. When he did swing, he typically made excellent contact, producing a 13.1 percent barrel rate and 44.9 percent hard-hit rate. He’ll need to improve against left-handed pitching to earn a true everyday role. The same can be said for Wallner, who put outstanding power numbers on display last season. The 26-year-old outfielder launched 14 homers across just 254 plate appearances on an elite 18.8 percent barrel rate and 48.1 percent hard-hit rate. Wallner just had much more swing-and-miss in his game, with low contact rates leading to a 31.5 percent strikeout rate. Both Wallner and Julien make for intriguing upside picks in mixed leagues.
Pirates add Yasmani Grandal on one-year deal
The Pirates signed Grandal to a one-year, $2.5 million contract on Sunday. The 35-year-old veteran backstop slashed .234/.309/.339 with eight homers across 405 plate appearances for the White Sox last season. He’s fallen off offensively over the last couple of years after consistently posting 20-homer seasons from 2016-2021. Grandal has seen his plate discipline and quality-of-contact metrics decline as he ages and doesn’t provide much upside from a fantasy perspective. He should serve as the backup catcher to Henry Davis. With only two games played at catcher for Davis, he’ll need to re-establish catcher eligibility in most leagues. This move may delay that happening by a couple of weeks if Grandal is splitting the playing time. It’s something to consider when taking Davis in fantasy drafts.
