{"id":512759,"date":"2026-03-04T01:33:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T01:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/512759\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T01:33:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T01:33:17","slug":"report-braves-profar-suspended-162-games-for-second-ped-violation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/512759\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Braves’ Profar suspended 162 games for second PED violation"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar<\/a> faces a 162-game suspension by Major League Baseball for a possible second failed test for a performance-enhancing drug, a person familiar with the issue told The Associated Press on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the process, first reported by ESPN, was ongoing.<\/p>\n

The players’ association filed a grievance at Profar’s request to appeal any discipline to baseball\u2019s independent arbitrator, Martin F. Scheinman, a second person familiar with the process said, also on condition of anonymity, because no announcement had been made.<\/p>\n

Because this would be Profar’s second infraction, an appeal would take place after a suspension was announced.<\/p>\n

An All-Star in 2024, Profar was\u00a0suspended for 80 games last March 31\u00a0following a positive test for Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG), a hormone that helps the production of testosterone. He issued a statement then saying: “I would never willingly take a banned substance, but I take full responsibility and accept MLB\u2019s decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

His agent, Dan Lozano, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Profar homered in his return from suspension on July 2\u00a0and finished with a .245 average, 14 homers, 43 RBIs and a .787 OPS in 80 games. He batted .280 in 2024, when he set career highs with 24 homers, 85 RBIs and an .839 OPS.<\/p>\n

Profar said at the start of spring training that he had sports hernia surgery in November, requiring a six-week recovery time. He has appeared in four spring training games this year, going 3 for 10 with three RBIs.<\/p>\n

A native of Cura\u00e7ao, Profar had been set to play for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n

Under the suspension, he would be ineligible for the postseason.<\/p>\n

Profar would lose his $15 million salary for this year as part of a\u00a0$42 million, three-year contract through 2027. He lost half his $12 million salary in 2025 due to the initial suspension.<\/p>\n

He would be the seventh player suspended 162 games for a second PED infraction after\u00a0New York Mets pitcher Jenrry Mejia\u00a0(July 2015),\u00a0Cleveland outfielder Marlon Byrd\u00a0(June 2016),\u00a0free agent catcher Cody Stanley\u00a0(July 2016),\u00a0Houston pitcher Francis Martes\u00a0(February 2020),\u00a0Mets second baseman Robinson Can\u00f3\u00a0(November 2020) and\u00a0Milwaukee pitcher J.C. Mejia\u00a0(September 2023).<\/p>\n

Mejia received a lifetime ban in February 2016\u00a0after a third positive test, the only player to be given a permanent ban since drug testing with penalties started in 2004.<\/p>\n

Four players have been suspended previously this year for positive tests, including\u00a0free agent outfielder Max Kepler for 80 games\u00a0under the major league program following a positive test for Epitrenbolone.<\/p>\n

Following the offseason signing of left fielder Mike Yastrzemski to a $23 million, two-year deal, Profar had been targeted to be the Braves\u2019 primary designated hitter.<\/p>\n

When catcher Sean Murphy returns from a hip injury, perhaps in May, 2025 NL Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin could fill in at DH when not behind the plate.<\/p>\n

With Yastrzemski, Michael Harris and Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. in the outfield, Eli White could be a DH option. The Braves also are without projected starting shortstop Ha-seong Kim due to a finger injury. Mauricio Dubon, expected to serve a utility role, is scheduled to open the season as the starting shortstop.<\/p>\n

The loss of Profar could create an opportunity for Dominic Smith, who signed a minor league deal on Feb. 17.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2014 Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar faces a 162-game suspension by Major League Baseball for a possible…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":512760,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-512759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=512759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/512760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=512759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=512759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=512759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}