Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar told reporters (including Mark Bowman of MLB.com) this morning that he underwent surgery for a sports hernia back in November. The procedure required six weeks of recovery time and he enters camp without any restrictions. Per Bowman, Profar indicated he first felt discomfort due to the issue back in September and it flared up again during offseason workouts.
Profar, 33 later this week, is in an uncertain place as he heads into his second season with Atlanta. The switch-hitter’s 2024 campaign with the Padres was nothing short of phenomenal and saw him live up to his pedigree as the sport’s former #1 overall prospect. He earned his first career All-Star appearance and Silver Slugger award that year, slashing .280/.380/.459 with a 139 wRC+. He swatted 24 homers and stole ten bases in 158 games and paired a 15.1% strikeout rate with an 11.4% walk rate. That brilliant season earned Profar a three-year, $42MM contract in Atlanta, but his time with the Braves was derailed almost immediately by a PED suspension. That left him to serve an 80-game suspension that wiped out the first half of his 2025 season.
Once Profar returned to Atlanta, he managed to pick up more or less right where he left off. In 355 plate appearances from his reinstatement in July to the end of the season, Profar slashed .248/.358/.446 with 14 homers and nine steals. He struck out 15.8% of the time while walking at a phenomenal 13.2% clip, giving him an overall wRC+ of 126. Profar’s use of a performance-enhancing substance will surely cast doubt on his numbers for some, and as the veteran gets deeper into his 30s he’ll surely suffer age-related decline. For now, though, it’s easy to pencil the switch-hitter in as a likely above-average contributor to the Braves lineup.
Those contributions figure to come primarily at DH, at least to start the year. Profar doesn’t seem especially enthused about the change. Bowman notes that when asked about primarily playing DH this year, he “gritted his teeth, smirked, and made it clear he’s not excited about the role.” Even so, Profar did say (as noted by Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that he’s willing to help the team however he can.
To that end, it’s hard to argue that the best version of this Braves roster doesn’t have Profar at DH. He’s long been among the weakest defenders in the sport according to defensive metrics, and with DH Marcell Ozuna having been replaced in the lineup by the defensively solid Mike Yastrzemski it makes plenty of sense to get him off the grass Perhaps that could change at some point in the season, depending on the performance and health of the club’s other outfielders. Another potential x-factor could be Sean Murphy, who is slated to begin the year on the injured list but could factor into the DH mix (alongside fellow catcher Drake Baldwin) upon his return to action.
For now, though, the Braves will need to take every advantage they can get as they look to make up ground against the Phillies and Mets in the NL East. The club is coming off its worst season since Alex Anthopoulos took over baseball operations in 2018, and getting a full season out of a healthy and effective Profar figures to be one way Atlanta will try to get back on track. Of course, they’ll also need better health and productivity from the rest of a lineup that saw key players like Austin Riley, Michael Harris II, and Ozzie Albies take steps backwards at the dish last year, and better health from pitchers like Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez will be crucial as well.
he “gritted his teeth, smirked, and made it clear he’s not excited about the role.” Even so, Profar did say (as noted by Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that he’s willing to help the team however he can.
After missing half the season with a PED suspension, he probably shouldn’t complain about anything.
Yeah what an entitled attitude. Embarrassing. If he wants to play defense, get better at it.
Entitled attitude? Because the writer assumed he wasn’t excited about the role?
In player interviews, I would take body language into account just as much as the actual words they say because they’re trained to be careful about what they say publicly because it can affect their finances. As a Braves fan, hopefully, it’s misreporting or misinterpretation from Bowman. Not going to lie though, I’ll be glad when his contract is over.
lol
You seem to be disproportionately affected by a professional baseball player maintaining a desire to play in the field. I’m not sure how many MLB players or professional athletes you’ve met, but most of them share a hyper competitive personality trait that is partially responsible for their ascent as an athlete. I think Profar’s willingness to take steroids for an edge is indicative of this attitude.
What Profar isn’t doing is looking at defensive metrics and agreeing with the conclusion that he shouldn’t be playing the field. His belief in himself and his performance both at the plate and on defense has made him millions of dollars up to this point in his life.
And if Profar plans on continuing his career and re-enter free agency after his Braves contract expires, his earning potential is much greater if he plays semi-regularly in the field, and isn’t viewed as a DH only piece at that time.
So from a business perspective and also a personal perspective, him wanting to still play the field is overwhelmingly understandable for most people. The Braves didn’t pay his salary while he wasn’t suspended either.
So in other words, relax yourself a little bit my man
Did he upset you Druuu? Were your wittle feelings hurt? “Willingness” to take steroids? He did them to secure a big contract. Despite not getting paid during his suspension, I figure he’s still ahead overall, as he resumes getting a salary inflated by cheating.
So in other words, he’s a fraud.
Yeah, they’ll take any little opening they can around here to bash a player who’s used steroids. That’s all this is about.
Not bashing here but in terms of expectations I believe it would be prudent to throw out Profar’s last two years. Most likely production going forward will be more similar to pre-2024(pre-PED’s). In other words less than average MLB hitter ..97 wRC+.
I’m relaxed…….. but Profar presents himself as a polarizing figure. Seems to get some sort of pleasure from antagonising people.
Then plays the “I’m just passionate” card.
In short. Fwit.
@MLBUmpire
I don’t know that he had an “entitled attitude.”
He wants to also contribute defensively. That doesn’t make him entitled.
I do agree with you that he needs to get better at it if he wants to play defense.
I still think he is going to be in the field a lot. They will give Acuna days at dh and also want Profar’s bat in the lineup.
I could also see Riley maybe getting some time at DH as well just to try and keep him healthy and in the lineup. I think that will come after Kim gets back though to allow Dubon to play 3rd now and then.
And maybe I’m completely wrong about Weiss and he ends up like Snit and just pencils in the same lineup every single day.
Man you beat me to it…….
Having a DH with a 100 career OPS+ would seem to have the Braves at a competitive disadvantage at the position. And who knows what his production will be without PED’s. With ?’s at SS,2B and CF it really puts a lot of pressure on Acuña, Olson, Riley and Baldwin to produce big time.
Better than having him drag down the team with bad defense if better options are available.
Umpire do you truly understand how bad your defense has to be in baseball to drag the whole team down? This is baseball. It’s not football or basketball where a teams defense plays a much more prominent role. Does the guy catch the ball most of the time? Yes. Does he run to make a play when he has to? Yes. Of course defense is important in baseball. Reading a lot of these comments on here you guys make it sound like they miss the ball or they drop the ball or they just can’t hardly run and they’re like this all the time and it makes their defense bad. Not every player is going to be 100% excellent defensively. If they catch the ball if they run if they do what they gotta do out there that’s usually enough to get the job done.
Like the article said, he had a 126 wRC+ last season, post-steroids presumably. So no competitive disadvantage.
MLBUmpire..I agree with that..if Profar is going to play it should be as DH. But it seems the plan is for him to play LF vs left handed pitching. Yaz, though solid vs right handed pitching(809 OPS) is unplayable vs lefties(648 OPS). Profar..732 and 728…R and L.
Hmmm I was told Brendan Donavan and his .651 ops vs lefties didn’t make him a platoon player due to his defense.
LOL! I was beating that drum myself! You are absolutely 💯 correct. Donavan is unarguibly a platoon, even a super utility.
If anyone here was given an opportunity to do anything for a ball club with his paycheck, not a single one would grit their teeth. Not a single damn one of us. What a pansy……
None of us have had 3.6 bWAR in the majors as a full-time left-fielder just two years ago.
…the same season he was caught and suspended taking PEDs at the conclusion of it, after signing a contract? Those are inflated stats, or ‘enhanced’ rather, especially with that fact and in comparison to his career.
Pretty clear that ‘career year’ at 31 years old was PED induced.
No one can prove that. And do you really think that the ones who get caught are the only ones using PEDs?
Well yeah, cause we suck
@heydude — Thats a load of manure. If he didnt grit his teeth he wouldnt be much of a ball player.
Baseball players sleep with their glove. Their heart is in that space they occupy in the field. Having a position is like having a home. You take that field, you defend your position, there is a separation from everything and you zone in until the ball is in play. That space offers a player a solace that is truly extraordinaire. To lose that is like losing your home.
I wonder who else has had surgeries over the off season that has been kept a secret?
I think you guys get my point, hopefully…….
No we don’t, ya pansy.
Hes no fraud. He picked up right after he left off upon return from suspension.
His BA was down, but power n walk rate were right where they are ( or better) w the juice.
Hes going to be a force for braves next year.
If Ozzie, Riley, and Murphy come back strong, they will be a top offense
This article was written as if the Braves have half a 40 man roster of Comeback Player of the Year Candidates.
Yeah, they should be good if everyone who is getting healthy stays healthy and gets back to where they were before they got hurt.
And if Profar stays as good as he was and doesn’t regress to pre-2024 Jurickson.
Braves likely moving on from Acuna at some point. Profar is a goner too. As much as the Braves are pushing to compete, delaying the rebuild is going to cost them.
They should be looking to move everybody they can like the Twins did last season.
They need to extend Waldrep and continue developing Elder. Schwellenbach heading for a TJ, but he and Smith-Schawver can be good in the rotation in ’28. I think Elder is indispensible as a solid back of the rotation starter.
Waldrep
Schwellendbach
Smith-Shawver
Elder
They really need to add some good prospects in the OF and the MI. Im surprised they didn’t take a shot at a pair of rule5 players this season with how awful their bench is.
Kyler Fedko and Ka’lai Rosario are both interesting OF prospects that could have stuck. Both more exciting than Brett Wisely and Eli White.
Jacob Berry played 500 innings at 2B last season for Miami’s AAA affiliate and Izaac Pacheco in Detroit could potentially be developed at 2B.
If Im the Braves, Id take all four in the rule5 with the intention of keeping them on the roster no matter how poorly they play. They all have options in ’27.
Pass on Kim and Yastremski, saves 30M and that looks good on the 10K.
Are you the same guy who thought the Braves should have signed Madison Bumgarner? You have his vibe.
He recently posted a laughable trade sending Riley and Murphy to the BoSox for Marcelo Mayer , Oviedo (called him a #2 starter), and the Sox #11 and #18 prospects. Also said that he thought the Sox were overpaying in the deal. He keeps talking about Elder and how he’s going to evolve into a #1 starter this season. Yikes.
STOP with the rebuild crap …this team is not rebuilding..at least not this year. When Murphy gets back and shows he’s healthy I fully expect the Braves to trade him and a prospect or two for a stud pitcher and it will time to rumble. With Profar at DH just not enough room for at bats for both our catchers to stay sharp with the bat. We have two top ten catchers but can’t get enough use from them.
Braves have Acuna for one season at 17M — every team in baseball knows how disgruntled he will be if a team picks up that option in ’27 without extending him.
The Braves have to extend him this season or they have to trade him.
If they trade him in ’26, they can land a haul. A team that trades for him will have a year to negotiate with him with two club options as leverage in contract negotiations.
If the Braves wait until ’27, they might get stuck with two years of cranky Acuna, wont have much leverage in contract negotiations, will have to overpay to extend him and his trade market wont be nearly what it is today because every team will know the Braves hand is weak.
Its all about Acuna in some sense.
Not sure I get the logic that the team we trade Acuña to would have the leverage with the two option years yet the Braves would NOT have the same leverage but my belief is the Braves will never pay $40m per year to sign him so at some point trading him should happen. Sad to say that but the sooner we do it the better the return.
You’re obviously a troll and your posts are ridiculous. I don’t have time for your nonsense, so I’m muting you. Have a nice day.
He should have told us right away when it happened because it’s our business.
For nearly a decade Profar was perhaps the most consistent offensive performer in baseball. Plus whiff, chase, strikeout and walk numbers coupled with below average hardhit, AAV and expected power numbers. He was a solid bat, drew walks and didn’t strikeout but didn’t hit for power. Then suddenly in 2024, at the age of 31, his power numbers spiked while he retained the same contact and plate patience numbers as before.
Average exit velocity (2016-2023): 85.2-87.5 mph
Average exit velocity (2024): 91.1 mph
Hardhit% (2016-2023): 26.1%-34.8%
Hardhit% (2024): 44.4%
He didn’t just improve his power, he did so by a dramatic amount at the age of 31 while maintaining all of his other metrics. It was clear at the time, and more clear since, that he went to alternative methods to improve his play and secure a big contract. He got paid, but he’s also a fraud.
The benefits of anabolic steroids don’t go away instantly when you stop taking them. Lab studies have shown their benefits can last for up to a decade. And don’t be confused by his ‘only taking HCG’ – athletes take these birth fertility drugs to deal with the side effects of steroids. It’s easier for testing to catch these drugs than the actual steroids.
Profar may have already shown some signs of power decline last season (89 AEV; 40.3% Hardhit%). Hopefully the decline continues as it’s no fun watching players who benefit from cheating.
And don’t feel bad for the Braves. After the 2024 off-season I looked through his numbers and PED use was the only explanation I could come up with to how he suddenly gained tremendous power while sacrificing nothing at the age of 31. The Braves have a lot of smart people – they made a calculated risk and paid a price. Until the punishment for PEDs is worsened there will continue to be players who cheat in order to gain an edge and/or receive a payday, but the teams that suffer as a result will lead lower contracts due suspected players and lessened rewards. Fingers crossed.
So you’re discounting that Profar worked the 2023 off season w/Tatis Sr and incorporated a leg kick into his stance as a possible explanation for his power surge in 2024?
Assuming this is a joke, but if not:
1. A leg kick can assists in timing. It doesn’t add raw power.
2. Time spent with the Tatis family absolutely could have helped.
Please say the Hurston Waldrep reports aren’t true 😭
Waldrep has indeed been shut down. I dont understand it. Is this a trainer issue the Braves are having?
Lets hear AA’s spin and everyone else who doesn’t want to sign any Free Agents pitchers after this one….this should be fun. My popcorn is ready for their word salad smh.
How about offering up some viable financial solutions along w/some names instead of your usual garbage and veiled insults. Constantly griping that the Braves should “sign all the FA pitchers” makes no sense. Try adding trades to your “word salad” as a possible solution. The lie you keep posting about “everybody else who doesn’t want to sign any Free Agent s pitchers” is ridiculous. There’s a financial aspect to that pov that you seem unable to understand.
Honestly, I hope Giolito’s agent’s contract ask went up 10M last week (after Schwellenbach’s) and now another 10M (with this news). AA’s blind faith in this group is maddening. I understand they have a full rotation when everyone is healthy, but it’s looking like the liklihood of that ever happening is far less than them ever being healthy (at the same time). And these injuries are not short-term discomfort.
Agreed RunDmc. Are you not a Braves fan? You already broke my heart being a Saints fan? lol….AA attempting to be the smartest guy in the room shtick has worn out its welcome in my book.
I’m a Braves fan, but I’m also a realist. AA playing with fire, again, by not adding any to the rotation after last season which looks like it taught him nothing.
What did Dubbya say on that, ” There’s an old saying in Tennessee, I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee, that says ‘Fool me once, shame on…shame on you. Fool me…you can’t get fooled again.'”
Being born in NoLA never left me a choice in being a Saints fan — but moving to ATL at a young age and experiencing them in ’90 (a year before the tide turned) cemented my fandom. I can smell the pee pee of Fulton County Stadium in that thick October air. Ah, memories.
Haha nice. I’m a closet Saints fan myself. My mom and her whole side of the family is from New Orleans. I grew up hearing how much my mom and grandmother liked their gold pants uniforms…Never understood what they meant until I was older lol
They aren’t true.
How’s that?
This team is cursed. If Schwellenbach and Waldrep can go on the shelf before spring games even start how far behind are the more fragile pitchers on our staff????
What’s the old cliche? You can’t win the division in April but you sure as heck can lose it?…The sky is falling i get it, but man i hope the offense shows out to keep us in the race because depending on Perez, Elder, Carasco, etc. and the others in a Fragile rotation is going to be tough until reinforcements come if any.
I can see it now. 2nd positive test incoming, followed by a statement saying how hes given his life to baseball, was injured and trying to come back and help the team and he unknowingly took the wrong thing. SMH, I always hated this guy, even when he played for Texas.
And now he’s suspended for the entire season. How do you get caught twice?