Jurickson

Profar

The 31-year-old resurrected his career in 2024 after signing a one-year, $1 million contract with the Padres — slashing a blistering .280/.380/.459 with 24 homers, 85 RBI and 10 stolen bases in a career-high 668 plate appearances. The fine prognosticators over at MLBTradeRumors.com projected that Profar would ultimately land a deal in the three-year, $45 million range, so it doesn’t seem bold for Profar to try for a three-year pact. He may need to wait until Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernandez ultimately sign though before he ultimately signs.

No surprise here after Ohtani wrapped up his sublime Dodgers debut with a stratospheric 1.036 OPS to go along with 54 homers, 59 steals and 130 RBI over 159 games. The other interesting note here is Jackson Merrill becoming just the 16th rookie ever to take home the honor since 1980. Here are the rest of the National League winners: William Contreras (C), Bryce Harper (1B), Ketel Marte (2B), Manny Machado (3B), Francisco Lindor (SS), Jackson Merrill (OF), Jurickson Profar (OF), Teoscar Hernández (OF), Shohei Ohtani (DH) and Mookie Betts (UTIL).

Profar’s homer gave the Padres a little extra wiggle room in the eighth inning by increasing the lead to 3-1. The former top-overall prospect had a rough August with a .196 average and .689 OPS, but September has been much kinder with a slash of .326/.434/.535 with two homers in 43 at-bats. It’s nice to see the 31-year-old living up to his potential.

Profar’s home run was his 22nd of the season. He hit a solo shot off Casey Mize in the first inning. Profar continues to add to his career-highs in home runs and RBI this year. He’s hitting .278 with an .844 OPS and 82 RBI on the season.

The Padres were scoreless until Profar tied the game with his career-best 21st homer of the year. He hit 20 in both 2018 and ’19. The homer also gave him a career-high 79 RBI, topping his total of 77 from 2018. He’ll probably finish with personal bests in all of the major categories this season.

Profar’s homer off Steven Okert, a 353-foot chip shot to the left field corner, made it 6-5. It would have out of seven ballparks, according to Statcast. It was Profar’s 20th homer in his All-Star campaign. Oddly enough, all three homers hit in the game were that player’s 20th of the year. Ryan Jeffers delivered for Minnesota, and Manny Machado hit his 20th an inning before Profar.

Profar doesn’t end up missing a game for San Diego following an early exit from Wednesday’s contest after being hit by a pitch in the right knee. The 31-year-old has been dealing with lingering knee issues throughout this season, so it’s a positive development that he’s not facing an extended absence.

Profar was pulled from Wednesday’s game against the Pirates after he was hit in the knee by a pitch, but fortunately X-rays came back negative for any fractures. The Padres play early on Thursday afternoon, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him sit that one out as a precautionary measure, but don’t expect the 31-year-old breakout fantasy superstar to require an extended absence.

Profar attempted to stay in the game and run the bases for himself, but after advancing to second on a single by Xander Bogaerts it was clear that he was unable to run at full speed. He’ll likely head for imaging to see if there’s anything structurally going on there. Expect the Padres to provide an update on his status as soon as more information becomes available.

Profar victimized Rockies’ right-hander Cal Quantrill with his 389-foot (101.0-mph EV) solo shot in the fifth inning that extended the Padres’ lead to 3-1. He then led off the seventh inning with a double and scored on an RBI double off the bat of Manny Machado. Profar also drew a walk in the eighth and raced around to score on an RBI single by Machado. On the season, the 31-year-old outfielder is still slashing an impressive .300/.393/.491 with 19 homers and 71 RBI.