How Jurickson Profar helped sign his replacement -- and next steps for the Braves

The Atlanta Braves began talking with free agent outfielder Mike Yastrzemski early this past offseason, and knowing how Yastrzemski's signing might affect Jurickson Profar's role, Atlanta executive Alex Anthopoulos reached out to Profar to discuss this possibility.

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

The Braves signed Yastrzemski to a two-year deal, a move that is becoming far more important than anyone envisioned at the time, in the aftermath of Profar's 162-game suspension under baseball's PED policy. One evaluator texted after the suspension news broke: "They're lucky they got Yaz."

This is just one piece of 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, which included pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, third baseman Austin Riley and 2024 Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale, and Profar's first PED suspension. The Braves opened camp this year without catcher Sean Murphy (hip) and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim (finger), who are both expected to miss the first quarter of the season because of injuries. Shortly thereafter, starting pitchers Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep required elbow surgeries that will likely keep them out of action until midsummer.

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 he returned from his 80-game suspension in 2025. The MLB Players Association is appealing his current suspension, but because it's his second offense, he must sit out as he goes through that process -- and for the sake of planning, the Braves have to operate as if he will not return.

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 hopes that Drake Baldwin, last year's National League Rookie of the Year, will get a lot of plate appearances at designated hitter, before and after Murphy returns from the injured list. Jonah Heim was signed just before spring training to share the catching responsibilities with Baldwin during Murphy's absence.

But with newcomer Mauricio Dubon filling in at shortstop until Kim's return, the Braves have a clear need for 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 pitching. There are still unsigned veteran free agents available, such as Tommy Pham and Andrew McCutchen. The Houston Astros have a surplus of infielders -- in theory, Atlanta could try to acquire Houston's right-handed-hitting 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 for him 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% tax they would've paid on the deal) on one of the unsigned starting pitchers, such as Lucas Giolito.

But it seems more likely that the Braves will weigh free agent options over the next few weeks, as other teams pare their rosters in preparation for Opening Day. And the Braves have to hope to avoid additional injuries -- or bad news.

"Who's had a worse spring training so far -- the Braves or the Twins?" one rival executive asked in the hours after Profar's suspension, while also mentioning the Minnesota Twins losing Pablo Lopez to season-ending Tommy John surgery.

The news of Profar's suspension has hit his team at a hard time, similar to his first suspension, which occurred right after the Braves had been swept by San Diego in a four-game series to start the 2025 season. It seemed like Atlanta never recovered. The hope is that this time around it's not the case. The Braves' focus remains on 2026.

"It was tough when I found out about it," Sale said in the aftermath of the Profar news. "Obviously, for us, at this time of the year, it's a difficult setback. We were preparing for the season and getting the staff locked in to face it, so this is certainly not the news you want to hear. ... I think what's really important for this clubhouse is to focus on the challenges ahead."