Jake hits the slam, but Profar having the grandest of times

SAN DIEGO -- It would be impossible to replace Juan Soto with one player, the Padres said all spring. It was going to take a total team effort to make up for the production they lost when they traded one of the sport's most fearsome hitters.

And, sure, it’s still difficult to argue with that sentiment. But two months after they dealt Soto to the Yankees, the Padres re-signed Jurickson Profar to a one-year deal worth $1 million, and they stuck him in Soto’s vacated left-field spot.

Five weeks into the 2024 season, Profar is hitting like peak Juan Soto.

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That surge continued on Wednesday afternoon in the Padres’ 6-2 victory over the Reds at Petco Park. Profar went 4-for-4, raising his season slash line to .342/.431/.523. He helped key the decisive seventh-inning rally, punctuated by Jake Cronenworth’s go-ahead grand slam.

“Everything,” Cronenworth said afterward, “started with him today.”

To be perfectly clear, nobody is expecting Profar to mash like this all season. There’s a reason he was available on such a bargain. With Colorado last year, Profar batted .236 before he was released in late August. He promptly signed with the Padres, and performed admirably -- as he always has in San Diego. But no one envisioned this.

Even Profar. But that’s mostly because he changed his mindset entering 2024. For his entire career, Profar said, he always laid out personal goals before each season. He stopped doing that this year. Why?

“All the other years, I didn’t meet the goals that I set,” Profar said. “So this year it was just: Playing.”

Even that wasn’t guaranteed. The Padres signed Profar as a utility piece. They informed him that his playing time might be sporadic. Profar didn’t seem to care. He just wanted a chance, and he was happy to get that chance with the organization he’s always felt most comfortable with.

Almost by default, Profar won the starting job in left field. Then, the season began, and he started raking. After the Padres’ series finale against Cincinnati -- before the MLB slate of night games -- Profar had the highest OPS among National League outfielders. (Only two AL outfielders ranked higher -- Houston’s Kyle Tucker and, yes, Soto.)

Amid Profar’s early season breakout, Dodgers catcher Will Smith called him “kind of irrelevant” after their dustup at home plate. Profar asserted his relevance a day later with a go-ahead three-run double at Dodger Stadium. A small trophy now adorns the top of Profar’s locker at Petco Park, inscribed with the words “Mr. Relevant.” (Profar says he isn’t sure how it got there; must’ve been one of his teammates.)

But here’s the irony: Profar is sort of OK with being irrelevant. At the very least, he doesn’t want the accolades.

“Fun, for me, is winning,” Profar said. “It’s never personal. We win the game, and I’ll have fun.”

The Padres hadn’t been doing much of that lately. They blew a five-run lead to close their series in Colorado on Thursday, then were swept by Philadelphia over the weekend.

Profar’s response? He was a driving force behind a key series victory over Cincinnati, going 8-for-12 across the three games -- including four singles on Wednesday in which he covered nearly every blade of outfield grass.

“It’s the usage of the big part of the field, the take-what-the-game-gives me [approach],” said Padres manager Mike Shildt.

That might be a bit overstated. Profar has clearly been the beneficiary of some batted-ball luck. His expected numbers, based on quality of contact, are worse than his actual numbers. But those expected numbers are still good. Profar is making all the right swing decisions, rarely chasing, and working deep counts. Mostly, he’s doing what he does best -- being a pest at the plate.

“I felt like in both of his at-bats, I threw some pitches that were pretty good,” said Reds starter Graham Ashcraft -- whose only two runs allowed came courtesy of Profar’s two-run single in the fourth. “I also left some stuff down and in that he could get to. He just put some good swings on us today.”

Clearly, the Padres are going to need more production from the bigger bats in their lineup. It was never their intent for Profar to be hitting leadoff on a team loaded with superstars.

But for now? They’re content to ride the hot streak. When Profar does come back down to earth, they still know what they’re going to get.

“Really, he’s a winning player,” Shildt said. “He understands how to play the game, and he sees the game really well.”