The Houston Astros have pivoted away from a reunion with third baseman Alex Bregman and also have traded Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs.
However, they have still made some impactful additions to the team, adding Isaac Paredes in the Tucker trade and signing Christian Walker to a three-year, $60 million contract.
They could still use a little bit of help offensively with Bregman and Tucker both gone. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com notes that Houston is showing interest in Jurickson Profar.
“Profar has got a number of teams interested. The Blue Jays are among them, the Astros are still looking for a corner outfielder, I know they are interested in him, so I could see him being one of the next guys to fall,” Feinsand said on MLB Network.
Profar had a strong season with the San Diego Padres and even earned his first All-Star nod, as well as his first Silver Slugger award, slashing .280/.380/.459 with 24 home runs, 85 RBI, 10 stolen bases and an .839 OPS. He also had a 134 OPS+ and a 3.6 WAR.
He is likely in line for a big raise this offseason, and while Houston doesn’t typically spend big on free agents, Profar is somebody who could be right within their preferred price range.
Profar provides power from both sides of the plate and can easily play multiple positions on the field. He could certainly boost the Astros lineup for far cheaper than somebody like Bregman or Pete Alonso.
We’ll see if Houston ultimately makes Profar an offer this winter.
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