Rangers Will Listen to Offers on Andrus, Kinsler and Profar

According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, the Texas Rangers have notified other teams that, due to their depth of middle infielders, they will be open to talk about Elvis Andrus, Ian Kinsler or Jurickson Profar if their names come up in trade discussions during this off season. Although it appears that the Rangers do not feel any urgency when it comes to moving one of them, they are willing to listen because thay have a bit of a logjam in the middle infield and they have other needs to address, namely young pitching.

Of the three, the Rangers would probably prefer to trade Kinsler, since he is due $62 million over the next four years. The Rangers have made it clear, however, that they don't feel they are in the same position they were last winter with Michael Young when they picked up 2/3 of his $16 million contract, and that they are not trying to dump Kinsler's salary. They have stated that they are adamently opposed to picking up any part of Kinsler's salary in order to facilitate a trade.

Andrus is due a very reasonable $6.475 million for 2014, but he reccently signed an 8 year extension for $118 million (average annual value - $14.75 million) beginning in 2015, and with a $15 million vesting option for 2023. There was apparently no mention of whether the Rangers might pick up any portion of Andrus' contract in a trade. Andrus is a better than average hitter for a shortstop, has great speed, (42 SB last year) and is a stellar defender. Despite the fact that Andrus would be a major upgrade at SS for the Mets, it is questionable that they would be willing to make the committment that a trade would entail without getting some salary relief from the Rangers.

From the Mets standpoint, I believe the most desirable option, by far, would be to obtain Profar. Currently only 20 years of age, he was called up by the Rangers last year when Kinsler required a replacement, and got 324 plate appearances. The #1 prospect in all of baseball prior to the 2013 season, ScoutingBook.com said of Profar that only 2 seasons after the Rangers converted him from a pitcher to a shortstop, "he was showing off every tool in the box, including a ridiculously-advanced batting eye for a teenager. Profar crushed the minor leagues in 2012, starting in A-ball and ending up with a taste of life on the MLB roster with the Rangers before the end of the year. A real future superstar in the making, it's hard to rate this kid too highly: he looks like nothing less than a switch-hitting Justin Upton, from the off-the-charts raw talent to the off-the-charts rawness. Just turned twenty, he's nonetheless ready to compete for a job now, and he should be scary-good in another year or two."

Would the Rangers bite on a package with Syndergaard as the center piece, say adding Flores? Would the Mets give up Thor for a position player, even one as good as Profar? Might the Rangers accept Gee or Montero instead of Syndergaard if the Mets added another excellent pitching prospect like Ynoa or Flexen? All interesting questions to ponder.

Meanwhile, in other news on the hot stove front, we hear from Mike Puma of the New York Post, that the Mets have shown interest in Corey Hart, along with a dozen or so other teams. Hart had surgery on both knees and missed the entire 2013 season because of it. He is expected to be ready to play by spring. Hart is a career .276 hitter with an .824 OPS, but in his most recent seasons (2010-2012) he has been better than that. As a right fielder/first baseman, the Mets could benefit from signing him, but the question is will his knees limit his ability to play the outfield. At a minimum, he could be a very effective platoon partner for either Ike Davis or Lukas Duda, since he crushes left handed pitching. MLB Trade Rumors projects that he would sign a 1 year deal for about $8 million plus incedntives.

One more thing about Hart. He did say that he would like to go back to the Brewers and he would give them a significant discount to do so. Specifically, he said “I’d definitely take a discount to stay here because I think I owe it to them.” said Hart. “Nobody wants to play for free but I basically sat there and watched all season. I owe it to them and the fans to come back at a cheaper price.” You just have to love a player who says that. Johan Santana, are you listening?