Getty Jurickson Profar
Another free agent is off the market, with outfielder Jurickson Profar signing a one-year, $1 million deal with the San Diego Padres. The contract, which was initially reported by NY Post’s Jon Heyman on February 12 and is yet to be confirmed by the team, also provides $1.5 million in incentives based on plate appearances.
This will be Profar’s second major-league stint with the Padres, having already played for the team for three seasons from 2020-2022. Since his MLB debut in 2012, the 30-year-old has also played for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and Colorado Rockies.
Profar deal with Padres is for $1M. Pending physical.
On a one-year, $7.75 million deal with the Rockies in 2023, Profar put up some of the worst stats of his career, slashing 236/.316/.364 with 8 home runs, 39 RBIs, and a 18.2% strikeout rate before being released by the team on August 27. Four days later, he signed a minor-league contract to rejoin the Padres organization, and he was added to the team’s major-league roster on September 8. In 14 games with the Padres to end the season, Profar improved his stats considerably, slashing .295/.367/.409 with 1 home run and 7 RBIs.
Profar became a free agent at the end of the 2023 season.
Profar’s Place On the Padres’ Roster
The Padres went into the offseason needing to add at least one outfielder, and while Profar may not be the winter’s highest caliber free agent, he fills that hole in the team’s roster. Prior to his signing, the only outfielders on San Diego’s 40-man roster were Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jose Azocar, so Profar can expect to slot into an everyday position in 2024.
The San Diego Padres now have a third outfielder on their 40-man roster by bringing Jurickson Profar back on a 1-year, $1 million contract
Inside Profar’s Deal With the Padres
On February 12, Heyman reported the Padres had signed Profar to a one-year, $1 million deal with $1.5 million in additional incentives based on plate appearances. The contract is pending a physical.
This is Profar’s second consecutive offseason as a free agent, having signed a one-year, $7.75 deal with the Rockies last winter. His new contract is a substantial decrease from his 2023 salary, but that’s not particularly surprising considering last year was one of the worst seasons of his career. Profar’s performance improved once he joined the Padres at the end of the season, but with such a small sample of just 14 games, his new $1 million contract is undoubtedly a “prove-it” deal for the 30-year-old outfielder.
In December 2023, the Padres were hit with a $39.7 million luxury tax bill after multiple seasons of exorbitant spending drove last year’s payroll to a team-record-setting total of $255 million. Prior to the offseason, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the Padres would cut their payroll this winter and “go into 2024 with player commitments of around $200 million,” and the team’s conservative spending since then has reflected that.
On January 3, the Padres signed South Korean pitcher Woo-suk Go to a two-year, $4.5 million contract, and on February 9, they signed reliever Wandy Peralta to a four-year, $16.5 million deal. Along with Profar’s new $1 million deal, the Padres open spring training this week with an estimated payroll somewhere between $143-158 million, according to ABC 10News’s Jeff Lasky, though the total value that counts toward MLB’s luxury tax in higher.