Padres reunite with former playoff hero

Oct 18, 2022; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin (3) during a press conference before game one of the NLCS of the 2022 MLB Playoffs against the Philadelphia Phillies at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres’ season is in the mud right now, so they are just going for the vibes at this point.

Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports Friday that the Padres are bringing back infielder Jurickson Profar on a minor-league deal. Profar is expected to report to Triple-A El Paso but is also a call-up candidate now that MLB rosters have expanded with the start of September, Sanders adds.

The 30-year-old Profar, who has also played for Texas, Oakland, and Colorado, had not been having a very good 2023 season with the Rockies. He was hitting just .236 with a .680 OPS for them over 111 appearances before getting released by Colorado earlier this week.

But Padres fans will happily welcome Profar back given his past heroics. Profar had a number of clutch moments last postseason, including a big three-run home run in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card series against the New York Mets that set the tone for the Padres to pull off the upset. Profar then delivered the go-ahead RBI in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers and also drew a leadoff walk to kickstart a five-run seventh inning for San Diego in the Game 4 clincher.

At a disappointing 62-73 this season though, the big-budget Padres don’t have much left to play for in the final month. The players all sound really frustrated right now, but maybe having an old pal back will help brighten the mood a bit.