Jurickson “Juicy Boy” Profar

Just like everyone else, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the Profar PED tweet. The Braves biggest splash from free agency will be shelved until just before the All-Star Break for testing positive for hCG- a masking agent that is used to restart testosterone production after a steroid cycle. Sick.

On top of his expected production, ability to work counts and get on base, and switch hitting presence to lengthen the lineup, the Braves will be without a guy who is known to be a fan favorite and have an energetic presence in the clubhouse. It’s a huge loss both on and off the field, and other guys will have to step up even more now than before.

Here’s what we know. Profar reportedly worked out before the 2024 season with Fernando Tatis Sr. and made some significant changes to his swing path and mechanics that produced some insane results. His successful 2024 season resulted in receiving a 3-year, $42M guaranteed bag from the Braves- who clearly thought these swing changes were sustainable. Almost $7M of that will be recouped this year, as a part of his 80 game sussy without pay.

In hindsight, the overlap with Tatis is obviously a bad look, considering Tatis Jr. was popped for PED’s in 2022. It’s about as tough of a look as it gets to be brutally honest. However, all of that dialogue surrounding his training with the Tatis’ is purely speculation. Whether you choose to give Profar the benefit of the doubt is your own personal decision. No one actually knows what the hell happened except for Profar. 

I’d argue that the most substantial detail that we don’t know is when exactly this test took place, and when the Braves front office was informed of the news. The Alex Verdugo signing out of nowhere on March 20th suggests that the Braves front office could have caught wind of this situation before Spring Training was over. The Stuart Fairchild acquisition mere hours before Profar’s news broke was obviously a move the Braves had to make to try to create more outfield depth once they saw the writing on the wall.

Profar released an apology statement, which is essentially just lip service about how he had no clue he put that in his body, yada yada yada, whatever. Apology statements like that are more of a formality than anything nowadays. The only real takeaway I have from his statement  is how Profar said he was “randomly” tested 8 times throughout the season, and was clean for his entire career up until this point. If this is true, why would you go on a steroid cycle after you already got your guaranteed $42M contract and made mechanical adjustments with positive results? That doesn’t make sense at all to me, and that’s a question that I’m sure will remain unanswered. Beyond that, I’m not really all that curious to see what he says when a microphone is put in front of him. It is what it is at this point, and there isn’t anything he can say to change the outcome of this awful situation. It just doesn’t make any sense that he was allegedly clean for 2024, got paid a lot of money, and then decided to do steroids with his new team.

The biggest ripple effect that this has on the 2025 season is Profar’s ineligibility to compete in the postseason in conjunction with his 80 game suspension. More than anything, the last three postseasons have been embarrassing from an offensive approach perspective. Not having his bat in the lineup is a huge loss for a potential October run, which I still fully expect the Braves to make. It will be interesting to see what they do prior to the deadline knowing this information months in advance.

The bottom line- Profar will come back and he can still help us get to October, but he won’t be able to help us during October. That will be a tough pill to swallow for this entire season, but that’s the reality of the situation. On the bright side, this team has a former NL MVP and Cy Young favorite returning soon- things simply HAVE to get better for this team after a nightmare start to the season.

And one last thing, for all the people saying we should cut Profar or trade him as a result of this mess: you all might be the dumbest, most over-reactionary people on Earth. Imagine if we did that with Ozuna after his off-field issues a few years ago? Profar can still be a huge asset to this team when he returns and I will continue to believe that he will help us get back to Choptober. Leaving a gaping hole in the outfield for 158 games would quite literally be almost twice as worse of a problem than having a hole there for 80 games. So please miss me with all of that nonsense. Profar isn’t going anywhere.