{"id":608051,"date":"2026-03-05T16:56:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T16:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/608051\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T16:56:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T16:56:15","slug":"how-could-the-braves-pivot-following-another-profar-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/608051\/","title":{"rendered":"How Could The Braves Pivot Following Another Profar Suspension?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Braves opened camp in 2026 hoping for a full season from outfielder\/designated hitter Jurickson Profar<\/a>. He’d missed 80 games in 2025 following a PED suspension but was productive upon returning. With designated hitter Marcell Ozuna<\/a> out the door, Profar and newly signed outfielder Mike Yastrzemski<\/a> had plenty of runway to frequent playing time.<\/p>\n

Of course, we now know that Profar isn’t likely to play a single game in 2026. He’s staring down yet another PED-related suspension, and the punishment for second-time offenders jumps from 80 games to 162 games. Profar and the MLBPA appear intent on appealing the ban, but there’s no precedent for a suspension being completely overturned.<\/p>\n

At best, Profar can probably hope for a slight reduction, and even instances like that are rare. Right-hander Michael Pineda<\/a> saw a 2019 suspension reduced from 80 to 60 games<\/a>, but only after providing sufficient evidence that the banned diuretic he took was not used as a masking agent for PEDs. Profar didn’t test positive for a masking agent but rather exogenous testosterone.<\/p>\n

Assuming Profar’s season-long ban is upheld, Atlanta will have some decisions to make. The Braves are already down their shortstop and two rotation arms this spring. Ha-Seong Kim<\/a> required surgery to repair a tendon in his hand after slipping on some ice in the offseason. Righties Spencer Schwellenbach<\/a> and Hurston Waldrep<\/a> both underwent elbow surgery to remove loose bodies and\/or bone spurs.<\/p>\n

The Braves are now also without Profar, who’d been in line for regular at-bats and was hoping to build off the sound .248\/.358\/.446 batting line (126 wRC+) he logged in 355 plate appearances upon returning from last year’s suspension. The veteran switch-hitter walked at a huge 13.2% clip and only struck out in 15.8% of his plate appearances. He connected on 14 home runs, 16 doubles and a triple while contributing nine steals (in 11 tries) on the bases.<\/p>\n

Losing Schwellenbach, Profar, Kim and Waldrep before the halfway point in spring training is a rough way to begin the season for an Atlanta club hoping for better health than in an injury-decimated 2025 campaign. If there’s a silver lining for Braves fans, however, it’s that Profar’s suspension sends him to the restricted list and mandates that he will not be paid his $15MM salary. The Braves are not only off the hook for that $15MM — they’re also spared $3MM of associated luxury taxes they’d have paid to the league.<\/p>\n

There’s obviously no guarantee that Atlanta reinvests the full freight of the money they’re now spared. The Braves could opt to lean on in-house solutions to plug their newfound roster gaps, then readdress when the trade deadline rolls around. That’s a defensible strategy, though\u00a0 the counterpoint would be that spending some of those funds on immediate additions would bolster the team’s chances of making it to late July as a contender.<\/p>\n

Much of free agency and the trade market has been picked over, but there are some options for president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos to explore with his unexpected $15MM of payroll flexibility late in the winter. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes more briefly touched on this topic in yesterday’s mailbag<\/a>, but let’s take a look at some more possibilities.<\/p>\n


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