LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball suspended Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar on Monday after he tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). It’s a fertility drug often taken after steroids, and it’s the same drug that Manny Ramirez was suspended 50 games for using in 2009.

The move is a significant blow to the Braves, who signed Profar, 32, to a three-year, $42 million contract in January, the only free agent they signed to a multiyear contract during the offseason. They immediately penciled him in as their everyday left fielder, and he hit leadoff in their first four games while star right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. continues his rehab from last season’s knee surgery.

Some red flags were raised around baseball, albeit whispers rather than public accusations, after Profar had a career-best season for the San Diego Padres in 2024. But the Braves attributed his power and overall offensive gains to adjustments Profar made with his lower body in his batting stance, after working out with Fernando Tatis Jr. and his dad the previous winter.

Statement from the Atlanta Braves: pic.twitter.com/KOplY13FuA

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 31, 2025

Profar had career-bests in average (.280), on-base percentage (.380) and slugging percentage (.459) in 2024. He also had a career-high 24 homers — his previous high was 20 in both 2018 and 2019 — and had a 134 OPS+ after never posting one above 114 in his previous 10 MLB seasons (he had a 98 career OPS+ entering this season).

Profar called Monday’s news “the most difficult day of my baseball career” in a statement provided by the Major League Baseball Players Association. In the release, he said he has been tested for PEDs throughout his career, including eight times last season, and he has “never tested positive.”

“I would never willingly take a banned substance, but I take full responsibility and accept MLB’s decision,” continued Profar’s statement. “I am devastated that I won’t be on the field with my teammates for the next 80 games. I look forward to competing again at the highest level this season upon my return.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The @MLBPA is releasing the statement below on behalf of Jurickson Profar. pic.twitter.com/BIQ7jc9BP9

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) March 31, 2025

In his new contract, Profar was to be paid $12 million in 2025 and $15 million in each of the two seasons after that. He will not receive pay during the suspension.

The Padres’ Mike Shildt, who managed Profar last year, said to reporters at Petco Park before San Diego’s game on Monday, “I love Jurickson Profar no more or no less right now than I loved him an hour ago. I still love him. I don’t know the circumstances behind it, but I know the person that is Pro and I love the guy.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised by it,” he added. “All I can tell you is I don’t know the circumstances, so I’m not going to speak to it. All I can tell you is I love Profar and I’ll support him regardless.”

The Braves made what seemed at the time like a superfluous trade for middling Cincinnati Reds outfielder Stuart Fairchild earlier Monday, before the MLB Commissioner’s office announced the suspension. That trade — they gave up a small amount of cash in exchange for Fairchild — made sense after rumors began to spread that Profar had tested positive for PEDs.

Fairchild, 29, has a .224/.308/.389 career slash line (.697 OPS) with 18 home runs and 23 steals in 615 plate appearances (259 games) in parts of four MLB seasons with the Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners, and was designated for assignment by the Reds on Opening Day. Hardly a strong replacement for Profar, but just one week into the season, the Braves will likely have trouble doing much better, as teams rarely trade impactful players so early.

Profar, a native of Curacao, is a career .245/.331/.394 hitter with 111 homers in his 12-year major-league career. In four games to start the season, he went 3-for-15 with one walk and three strikeouts during the Braves’ opening series in San Diego.

The Braves signed veteran Alex Verdugo to a one-year, $1.5 million contract in the last week of spring training and optioned him to Triple A so that he could get at-bats after not having a spring training. With Profar out for half of the season now, they might need to turn to the 28-year-old Verdugo sooner. Formerly a highly-regarded prospect who was a key return for Boston in the Mookie Betts trade, he is a career .272 hitter with a .742 OPS in eight seasons. He had a solid stretch with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox from 2019-2022 before his production slipped in the past two seasons.

If the suspension itself weren’t bad enough for the Braves, there’s also MLB’s postseason eligibilty rules: All players who have served a suspension for PEDs in a given season are ineligible for postseason play that year.

— The Athletic’s Dennis Lin contributed to this report.

(Photo: Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)