Atlanta Braves star Jurickson Profar is facing another lengthy spell away from the field after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs for the second time in his Major League Baseball career.
Profar, the team’s designated hitter, was slapped with an 80-game suspension just days into the 2025 season, and he is now facing a 162-game ban as a second-time offender just a year later.
ESPN reports that he will also forfeit the entirety of his $15 million salary, and will be ineligible for the postseason should the Braves make it there.
Profar was an MLB All-Star with the San Diego Padres in 2024, before leaving to sign a $42m contract with the Braves in January 2025, two months before his first ban.
After his initial ban last year, Profar said that ‘it is because of my deep love and respect for this game that I would never knowingly do anything to cheat it.’
The Braves, meanwhile said they were ‘surprised and extremely disappointed’ but that they ‘fully support the program and are hopeful Jurickson will learn from this experience.’
Jurickson Profar has been handed a second lengthy ban after testing positive for PEDs again
Profar only made his Braves debut in July 2025 after his previous 80-game drugs ban
Profar is yet to speak out on the most recent ban, which comes on the same day he was due to begin participation in the World Baseball Classic for the Netherlands.
He has also been in spring training with Atlanta ahead of what would have been his first full season with the team.
The 33-year-old is the sixth player to receive a 162-game ban by Major League Baseball, after the penalty was increased for repeat offenders in 2014.
For the Braves, Profar’s absence will come as a significant blow given they are already without starting pitchers Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep due to elbow injuries.
Last season, Profar returned to the team in July to make his debut, going on to his .245/.353/.434 with 14 home runs.
The ban will also come as a significant blow to the already-hamstrung Atlanta Braves roster
Profar makes a catch in a game against the Detroit Tigers after returning from his 2025 ban
At the start of his career, Profar was the No 1 prospect in baseball, debuting at 19 with the Texas Rangers, but he spent plenty of time on the injury report.Â
He underwent sports hernia surgery during the current offseason, and was expected to shift to designated hitter and move toward the top of the Braves batting lineup.
Manager Walt Weiss will now need to rethink his 2026 plans again, though, with Profar expected to be absent for the entire campaign.
When he returns in time for the 2027 season, he will have one year left on his contract and will be set to earn another $15m.
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MLB All-Star facing 162-game ban and loss of $15m salary after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs AGAIN