Where Do the Braves Turn After the Jurickson Profar Suspension?
Outfielder Jurickson Profar has been suspended 80 games for violating MLB's PED policy. What's next for the Atlanta Braves?
A disappointing start to the 2025 MLB season for the Atlanta Braves just took another turn for the worse, as outfielder Jurickson Profar has been suspended 80 games for violating MLB’s PED policy after testing positive for Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG).
After being swept in a four-game series by the San Diego Padres on opening weekend, where they were held scoreless over the final 22 innings of the series, this was the last news Braves fans wanted to hear.
Both the Braves and Profar have released statements on the matter, and his suspension is effective immediately.
On January 23, 2025, the Braves signed Profar to a three-year, $42 million deal following a career year with the Padres. He set career-best marks in hits (158), homers (24), RBI (85), batting average (.280), and OPS (.839).
Many, including us at Just Baseball, believed in the swing changes Profar made last season. Even if he didn’t sustain that pace in a Braves uniform, there was reason to believe he would provide Atlanta with steady and consistent offensive production over the next three seasons.
Now that Profar is suspended for the next 80 games and ineligible for the 2025 postseason, the Braves must turn their the heads to the in-house options they have to fill that void.
Atlanta’s Alternative Outfield Options
Jarred Kelenic stands to be the biggest beneficiary of Profar’s absence. Initially expected to be part of a platoon until Ronald Acuña Jr. returns, Kelenic received the start in right field in all four games against the Padres, who only rolled out right-handed starters.
So far in 2025, Kelenic is 2-for-13 with one home run and five strikeouts, but he has shown his defensive capabilities with the glove in right field. Though he was pinch-hit for by Bryan De La Cruz once, he has accumulated 13 plate appearances compared to De La Cruz’s two.
A former top prospect in baseball, Kelenic has yet to fully translate his potential into consistent big league success. The Braves acquired him before last season, hoping to unlock his talent. After a hot start in 2024 (.721 OPS through 74 games), his numbers faded down the stretch, which led to his eventual benching.
In what looked to be a make-or-break year for Kelenic, he will now get another chance to earn an everyday role with Atlanta.
The other half of the presumed platoon, De La Cruz, has yet to see any significant playing time this season, registering just two plate appearances thus far. The Braves signed the right-handed outfielder this past offseason as a depth piece with the potential to carve out a larger role.
In 2024 with the Miami Marlins, De La Cruz posted a .700 OPS before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates after 105 games, where he would see his numbers take a sharp decline.
His career slash line of .252/.297/.407 suggests he has the ability to provide offensive value, but he will need to prove himself quickly if he wants to stick in Atlanta’s plans.
Alex Verdugo was a free-agent signing that I had been advocating for even before the Braves landed Profar. On March 20, Atlanta and Verdugo agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million major league contract, despite agreeing to start the season in the minor leagues.
While his 2024 season with the Yankees was underwhelming, Verdugo still demonstrated the bat-to-ball skills that the Braves had hoped Profar would bring. Sporting a career .272/.328/.414 slash line and a .742 OPS, Verdugo’s offensive profile would be a welcomed addition to this currently struggling lineup.
If you ask me, Verdugo and Kelenic are the favorites for the job. This Braves offense could use the spark of energy and passion that Verdugo brings to a clubhouse.
Eli White has spent the past two seasons within the Braves organization, primarily in Triple-A. The 30-year-old outfielder appeared in 35 games last season, posting a .769 OPS while providing solid defense in limited opportunities due to injuries.
A career .191 hitter, White will have a huge uphill battle to win an every day job in Atlanta, but his defense and base-stealing prowess should keep him on the 26-man roster, for now.
Braves fans had a hint that bad news might be coming soon when the organization announced they have traded for outfielder Stuart Fairchild from the Cincinnati Reds. At the time, the move made little sense. However, just hours later, the Profar suspension news broke.
Fairchild had been DFA’d by the Reds five days prior. The outfielder has a career .224/.308/.389 slash line and a .697 OPS across four MLB seasons. A glove-first outfielder with 92nd-percentile sprint speed, Fairchild offers defensive versatility and speed off the bench but is unlikely to be a major offensive contributor.
Is It Time To Panic?
Admittedly, this is far from ideal for the Braves. Profar was the team’s biggest offseason signing in what was an otherwise quiet winter. His absence for the next 80 games and ineligibility for the postseason will leave a noticeable gap in the lineup.
With that said, the Braves have shown that they are not a team who will crumble over a setback. For most ball clubs, losing a key offseason signing for 80 games would spell doom. However, the Braves are not one of those teams.
It was just last season that Atlanta relied upon players such as Adam Duvall, Gio Urshela, Eddie Rosario, and Whit Merrifield to lead them to an 89-win season and a Wild Card berth. Once Acuña returns in May, the Braves’ lineup should remain one of the most dangerous in baseball, even after the Profar suspension.
We’re still in the early stages of the season, with over five months left to play. If there’s one thing we know about Alex Anthopoulos and the Atlanta Braves, it’s that they are not afraid to make an in-season acquisition to upgrade the roster.
But for now, all we can do is take a deep breath and see how the next few months unfold.
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Taylor is a baseball enthusiast and a writer for Just Baseball. An Atlanta native, he shares his love for the Braves, card collecting, and scouting the…