Dodgers set sights on a Jurickson Profar trade

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The Dodgers wanted Brian Dozier to play second base for them. Well, the Dodgers still want Brian Dozier to play second base for them. Talks with the Twins haven’t resulted in anything close to a deal, though, so Los Angeles expanded their search for a second baseman to the Tigers’ Ian Kinsler and the Rays’ Logan Forsythe. They haven’t made deals with either of those two teams yet, so now, Ken Rosenthal reports that they’re expanding once again: the Dodgers are thinking about a number of potential trade targets, but the one we know they’ve discussed an actual trade for is the Rangers’ Jurickson Profar.

It’s a weird situation, as Profar isn’t the Dodgers’ preference given their longstanding desire for Dozier, and the Rangers likely aren’t keen on dealing him given he’s still all of 23 years old. However, he entered his first season or arbitration eligibility already, and if the Rangers end up signing Mike Napoli, as has been rumored, there isn’t exactly somewhere for Profar to play. They already have Rougned Odor at second, Elvis Andrus at short, Adrian Beltre at third, and a full outfield of Nomar Mazara, Carlos Gomez, and Shin-Soo Choo. Profar can’t even be the DH, as Texas also needs to work Joey Gallo into the fold, and that’s where he’s currently penciled in.

So, adding Napoli could push Profar out of any real chance of consistent at-bats, assuming the rest of the lineup is healthy. Given the Rangers’ familiarity with the disabled list over the last few years, though, they might not be in a rush to deal Profar given he could play near-daily by resting the starters. So, they aren’t just going to give up a still-young talent who was once baseball’s top prospect just because he might not have a place to play: no, the Dodgers would need to be willing to give up something significant that the Rangers don’t already have on hand in order to make this work, and if that’s the case, you might just see Los Angeles turn their sights back to Minnesota and Dozier.