May 20, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers second baseman Jurickson Profar (13) throws to first during the game against the Oakland Athletics at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Oakland won 9-2. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

So that brings us to this: Are there any true motivations for the Rangers to trade such a prospect of Profar’s caliber?

Absolutely.

Just this April, the Rangers signed current shortstop, Elvis Andrus, to an 8-year, $120MM extension, and last April, the Rangers agreed to a 5-year, $75MM extension with second baseman, Ian Kinsler. Regardless of Profar, the Rangers are set in the middle infield for the present and future, not to mention up and coming middle infield prospects such as Luis Sardinas, whom are finding their way up many prospect rankings. The Rangers simply don’t appear to have an open spot for Jurickson Profar at the MLB level at his natural position(s), which brings us to this question:

What exactly is Jurickson Profar’s trade value?

Well, to properly assess a prospect’s trade value, one must assess the prospect’s toolset, his expected ceiling and floor, followed by his make up. There is a reason why Profar is the No. 1 rated prospect in all of baseball. To begin, Profar displays a full arsenal of average, to above-average tools across the board. Not a one of Profar’s tools are truly elite, but none of his tools are below average, which often times makes Profar one of the best baseball players on every diamond he plays upon. Secondly, Profar displays both an extremely high ceiling and floor, meaning that if Profar can develop into the peak of his talents, he could become a perennial MVP candidate or at worst, an above average middle infielder at the MLB level. Lastly, Profar has elite make up. There have been numerous write-ups describing Profar’s top-notch instincts and baseball IQ, which usually lends a major hand in predicting just how far a prospect can develop.

To put it simply, Profar is a scout’s dream: An exceptional prospect at a premium position with elite make up and highly projectable tools. Profar is the type of prospect that other teams would demand in a high-profile trade, such as the rumored, Stanton or Price scenarios. The Rangers do not have any needs for a middle infielder at the MLB level, but the team certainly has a need for a corner outfielder (Stanton) or a starting pitcher (Price).

Which brings us to the ultimate point of this post: Why the Rangers will not trade Jurickson Profar.

Obviously, holding onto Profar would imply that the Rangers will eventually be asking that Ian Kinsler and/or Mitch Moreland move positions in 2014. In this scenario, either Kinsler moves to left field in 2014 and Profar goes to second base, or Kinsler movies to first base with Moreland taking over in left field or right field, with Profar again taking over at second base. Logically, both of these moves do make sense but also do not make sense at the same time. It is rather clear however, that David Murphy and/or Nelson Cruz will not be in Texas in 2014, meaning that Ian Kinsler’s or Mitch Moreland’s bat in a COF position would be highly welcome, but then again, so would Giancarlo Stanton’s.

It is no secret that the Rangers have the assets to acquire players of Stanton and Price’s caliber, and that holding onto Jurickson Profar is probably not the decision with the biggest impact, but let us quickly look back at the Justin Upton rumblings during the offseason.

During the Winter Meetings, it was clear that Arizona intended to trade their young slugger, and right from the beginning, it was mentioned that Arizona coveted both of the Rangers’ shortstops in a potential deal, but Texas was extremely reluctant to deal Andrus or Profar and instead tried to build a package around Mike Olt. Remember, at the time it was speculated that Texas was simply posturing in an attempt to raise Andrus’ trade value, as it seemed extremely unlikely that the team would extend Andrus. Additionally, it made more financial sense to acquire a young, power hitter in Upton and go with a stud prospect at shortstop in Profar, whom would be making league minimum. Yet, the consistent dialogue coming from Jon Daniels was that the Rangers preferred to keep Andrus and Profar. Daniels also voiced the Rangers’ desire to extend Elvis Andrus, which indeed ended up happening (so much for that being nothing more than a posturing tactic).

Which brings us to this interesting quote from GM Jon Daniels when questioned on the possibility of extending Andrus:

Our preference would be to continue to have a good [thing] probably, meaning with Kinsler, Elvis and Profar, have three guys with two positions. We would love to extend Elvis. We extended Ian, obviously Jurickson is going to be here for some time, and we would love to extend Elvis.

If there is one thing that I’ve learned in all of my years of following Jon Daniels’ tenure as the Rangers’ GM, it is that when Daniels goes out of his way to say something, he usually means it. Daniels went out of his way to state the team’s desire to keep and extend Andrus, and it ended up happening. I don’t think it’s inconceivable that with the emergence of mega television deals in the game today and the affects that these deals have already had on the free agent market, that the Rangers are reluctant to trade Jurickson Profar. Obviously moving Kinsler to left field would lower his value, as his bat would probably be considered average for a COF, but then again, there aren’t many cheaper external alternatives in terms of the cost of cash and prospects and additionally, Kinsler would most certainly be an upgrade over David Murphy. It would essentially be a cost-effective, internal upgrade.

The Rangers certainly have the necessary motivations to trade Jurickson Profar, but given the way that the team has operated, I quite honestly don’t see such a trade ever materializing. As an organization, the Rangers view the year of 2015 as momentous (2015 is the year that the television deal begins). Anything between now and then is ultimately important. Take this quote from Rangers’ co-owner, Bob Simpson as evidence:

Success follows success. By 2015 the goal is that this team will be self-sustaining, but our payroll may be another 40 or 50 percent higher. So that will move you up to a level where you should field a great team year after year. We just need to bridge the gap [between now and the TV contract] to get this great franchise to permanent success.

This quote could imply one of many things, but to me, self-sustaining implies a team that develops its own talent. Jurickson Profar is the result of Texas’ scouting and developmental departments. Utilizing cheap, yet top-notch, young talent is what self-sustenance is all about. The Rangers have often employed the actions of a team with big market resources making decisions like a small market club. If anything, small market clubs don’t deal their No. 1 prospects. The Rangers will not trade Jurickson Profar because the Rangers aren’t wary of making the moves with the littlest impact, just take the Justin Upton “fiasco” as an example. The Rangers are primarily concerned with sustaining a winning organization, and Jurickson Profar is the type of player that provides incredible value for an organization. Profar is simply the kind of player that teams do not trade for anybody. Incidentally, David Price is a free agent after the 2015 season—Go figure.

Sep 27, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers rookie infielder Jurickson Profar in the dugout during the game against the Oakland Athletics at Rangers Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers are coming off of a great series against the Tigers where they won three out of four at home. The game last night was a bit crazy, and it took what seemed like twenty-two hours or so. Either way, when you are able to take three out of four from a team expected to be really good, that is considered a sucessful series.

The Oakland Athletics are coming to town for three games starting tonight, and tonight should be an interesting game. Josh Lindbloom gets the start for Texas. In cas you don’t remember, Lindbloom came over from the Phillies in the Michael Young trade. Lindbloom is 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA so far at Round Rock this season in seven starts and one relief appearance. He is being called up to take Alexi Ogando’s spot in the rotation, and he will be put up against last years proven cheater Bartolo Colon. Colon has not fared as well this season, being 3-2 with a 4.56 ERA. The Rangers also designated Derek Lowe for assignment to make room for Lindbloom. The Rangers should be able to win if Lindbloom can hold his own against a struggling A’s lineup. This will be his first major league start. Another exciting thing about tonights game (for all of us prospect fans) is that Jurickson Profar is getting the start at second, replacing the injured Ian Kinsler. Profar is coming off of a multi-home run game Saturday night at Round Rock. If you didn’t get a chance to see him last season with the Rangers, he is a very exciting player to watch. It should be fun to see him out there.

Tuesday gives us the matchup of Yu Darvish (7-1, 2.97 ERA) against Dan Straily (1-2, 7.27 ERA). This matchup just seems unfair for the Athletics, looking at the pitching matchup, but we all know what that means. It means it will probably be a close matchup that will come down to the wire. Either way, I expect Darvish to earn his eight win of the season in this one. Wednesday has Nick Tepesch (3-4, 3.98 ERA) going against Jarrod Parker (2-5, 6.04 ERA). Again, if Tepesch can keep the Rangers in the game, they should have a great chance of winning this game and sweeping the series.

As earlier mentioned, the Rangers designated Derek Lowe for assignment. Derek had an ERA of 9.00, the worst by far in the Rangers organization this season. Michael Kirkman, whom a lot of Rangers fans wanted dropped today after his appearence yesterday, is still there. I think the Rangers are willing to give him more of a chance because he is younger and the Rangers are hoping he will come around eventually. He has had some good games, and then some really bad games. Kind of reminds me of Derek Holland a couple of years ago. When Kirkman is good, he is really good, and when he is bad, well, you know that.

This series can really put a long distance between the Rangers and their next closet competition, and that would be a good thing seeing how the season ended in 2012. I am looking forward to watching what this team can accomplish with all the young talant this year.

In conjunction with Alexi Ogando, Ian Kinsler’s placement on the DL smells potently like We [the Rangers] have a 6.0 game lead on the division so let’s be overly cautious, maybe even unnecessarily so. But I’m okay with that, because it’s May and we still have a full 3/4 of the season left. In Ogando and Kinsler’s case, we have 2014, 2015 and 2016 left.

From the perspective of a baseball fan, this news is exciting. Jurickson Profar has been stashed at Triple-A long enough for the Rangers to maintain 6 years of team control, and he’s fresh off a Saturday night hitting two home runs. Though he’s sitting tonight against the Tigers, he should log the majority of the innings at second base while Ian Kinsler is on the shelf.

Despite a slow start, Jurickson has generated a triple slash line of .278/.370/.438 (113 wRC+) at Round Rock, which includes 6 stolen bases and a 12.7% walk rate. Dude is ready.

The smart money is on Profar being sent down with only a taste of the big leagues once Kins is healthy, but if he exhibits a successful burst of production over the next couple weeks, it might not be long before the Rangers carve out a role for him in the 2nd half of the season.