Interesting article from T. R. Sullivan on MLB.com about Jurickson Profar being a prime bargaining chip in the off-season for pitching.

While his final numbers weren’t spectacular, he did have the obstacle of not having a regular position or regular playing time, and the hurdle of not having played for two seasons.

There is an upside still there. It will be interesting to see what his trade value would be.

One thing Sullivan brings up is something I have pondered a few times aloud here. What about trading Odor instead and keeping Profar as the everyday second baseman?

Yes, that might be considered crazy talk. But is it, really? If it meant the Rangers getting a bona fide top-five starter in baseball like Chris Sale, would you do it?

Remember, Sale is under contract through the 2019 season. He is due $12 million next year, $12.5 million in 2018, and $15 million in 2019.

Derek Holland’s contract was for $11 million. So Sale is a bargain, and easily one of the premier pitchers in baseball.

To get him would probably require a boatload of prospect, of which the Rangers supply is severely depleted. Or it could cost you Odor and a prospect.

We will find out in the next five months exactly what Jurickson Profar is worth.

But as the Rangers move into Darvish’s last season, one year of a rotation of Hamels, Darvish, Sale is pretty formidable.

So the question becomes, is the benefit of the upgrade from Sale to whoever the Rangers third starter would be more than the downgrade of Odor to Profar?

“Oh,” you say, “but we can’t trade Odor, he’s a star player.”

The Rangers have created a self-inflicted pitching dilemma brought on by its inability to produce pitching on its own. When you can’t develop it, you have to buy it or trade for it.

And you’re not going to trade fifty cents and expect to get a dollar in return. If you have to shore up glaring deficiencies in one area, you have to deal from strength in another area.

This winter, elite starting pitching cannot be bought on the open market. It’s going to have to be dealt for. Odor will bring much higher value than Profar.

I’m not saying. I’m just saying.