What’s next for Braves after Jurickson Profar suspension

The Atlanta Braves began talking with free agent outfielder Mike Yastrzemski early last offseason, and knowing how signing Yastrzemski could affect Jurickson Profar’s role, Atlanta manager Alex Anthopoulos contacted Profar to discuss the possibility.

Anthopoulos outlined possible market options for Profar and acknowledged that if the Braves added Yastrzemski, Profar would get plate appearances at designated hitter on certain days, instead of playing left field. Profar agreed that Yastrzemski is a good player and that he agreed with this decision.

The Braves signed Yastrzemski to a two-year contract, a move that becomes far more significant than anyone envisioned at the time, following Profar’s 162-game suspension under baseball’s PED policy. One evaluator texted after the suspension was announced: “They are lucky to have Yaz.”

This is just bad news in what has been another Murphy’s Law type spring for the Braves. Last year, they were derailed by a series of injuries, including pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, third baseman Austin Riley and 2024 Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale, as well as outfielder Profar. first PED suspension. The Braves opened camp this year without catcher Sean Murphy (hip) and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim (finger), both of whom are expected to miss the first quarter of the season with injuries. Shortly after, starting pitchers Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep had to undergo elbow surgeries that will likely keep them out of action until mid-summer.

Now, Atlanta is also without Profar, who had a .245/.353/.434 slash line with 14 home runs in the 80 games he played after returning from his 80-game suspension in 2025. The MLB Players’ Association is appealing his current suspension, but since this is his second offense, he must sit out while he goes through that process — and for scheduling reasons, the Braves must operate as if it would not come back.

Yastrzemski, who is 9-for-17 (.529) with a double and four homers this spring, slides into a starting role alongside Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuna Jr. in the outfield. Atlanta is hoping that Drake Baldwin, last year’s National League Rookie of the Year, will get plenty of plate appearances as the designated hitter, both before and after Murphy returns from the injured list. Jonah Heim was signed just before spring training to share catching responsibilities with Baldwin during Murphy’s absence.

But with newcomer Mauricio Dubon filling in at shortstop until Kim returns, the Braves clearly need another outfielder — and a right-handed hitter would fit best, to give new manager Walt Weiss possible platoon alternatives to Yastrzemski and Baldwin when Atlanta faces left-handed pitchers. There are still unsigned veteran free agents, such as Tommy Pham and Andrew McCutchen. The Houston Astros have a surplus of infielders – in theory, Atlanta could try to acquire Houston right-handed third baseman Isaac Paredes to be in the infield and DH mix. But he might not fit the Braves’ needs, and the Astros’ asking price is understandably high: When Houston talked with Boston about a deal for him, the Astros were interested in outfielder Jarren Duran.

The Braves also need pitching. Injuries to Schwellenbach and Waldrep have left their rotation thin, so they could use the money from Profar’s $15 million salary (and the $3 million in luxury taxes from the 20 percent tax they would have paid on the deal) on one of the unsigned starting pitchers, like Lucas Giolito.

But it seems more likely that the Braves will evaluate free agent options in the coming weeks as other teams trim their rosters in preparation for Opening Day. And the Braves must hope to avoid further injuries — or bad news.

“Who’s had a worse spring training so far: the Braves or the Twins?” asked a rival executive in the hours after Profar’s suspension, while also mentioning that the Minnesota Twins lost Pablo Lopez to season-ending Tommy John surgery.

The news of Profar’s suspension hit his team at a difficult time, similar to his first suspension, which came just after the Braves were swept by San Diego in a four-game series to start the 2025 season. It seemed Atlanta never recovered. Let’s hope this time that’s not the case. The Braves’ attention remains focused on 2026.

“It was hard when I found out,” Sale said following Profar’s announcement. “Obviously, for us, at this time of year, it’s a difficult setback. We were in the process of preparing for the season and putting the staff in place to deal with it, so it’s definitely not the news you want to hear. … I think what’s really important for this clubhouse is to focus on the challenges ahead.”