Jurickson Profar suspended 80 games for PED use
As if the start of the 2025 regular season couldn’t get any worse for the Atlanta Braves after they were swept in four games by the Padres, they just lost their biggest free agent signing of the offseason. Following a career year with the Padres in 2024, Profar signed a three year contract worth $42 million with the Braves. Atlanta’s roster was banged up for a large part of 2024 and was in need of outfield depth headed into 2025 which is why they turned to Profar in free agency. Now, the Braves can only hope that Ronald Acuna Jr will return as soon as possible now that they are without the 2024 All-Star.
The news came out on Monday afternoon via Jeff Passan on Twitter/X that Profar had violated Major League Baseball’s PED policy. While it has not yet been reported what Profar was using, what we do know is that he will miss 80 games.
In his age 31 season last year, Profar finally put together a season baseball fans were expecting from him as a top prospect ten years ago. With the recent news, that success seems like it will now be viewed as tainted. Profar hit a career high 24 home runs and posted a career best slash line of .280/.380/.459 on his way to his first All-Star selection and a solid free agent contract. When looking at his advanced metrics, it will be tough for the baseball community to not raise an eyebrow at the numbers following the suspension.
2016-2023:
Barrel%: 4.1
HardHit%: 31.1
Average EV: 86.7 mph
2024:
Barrel%: 7.2
Hardhit%: 44.2
Average EV: 91.1 mph
Profar is already on the record apologizing to baseball fans and claiming that he would never knowingly use any banned substances, but accepts MLB’s punishment and doesn’t seem to be appealing the suspension.
With Profar out for now half of the season, Bryan De La Cruz seems to be his replacement in left field with Eli White on the bench as the fourth outfielder. Ronald Acuna Jr is expected to return to the Braves lineup sometime in late April or early May. While there is no reason to rush Acuna Jr back to the lineup while he’s recovering from his second ACL injury, his presence will certainly be appreciated when he does return. The bottom half of Atlanta’s lineup is thinning out as the six through nine spots are some combination of Jarred Kelenic, Orlando Arcia, Drake Baldwin, Bryan De La Cruz, Nick Allen, Chadwick Tromp, and Eli White. Those bats are going to have to produce if the Braves are going to turn around this slow start to the season.
