Jurickson Profar is facing a lengthy suspension for the second straight season.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan is reporting the Braves outfielder and designated hitter has tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug for the second time and is facing a 162-game suspension.
Profar played the first four games of the 2025 season before being suspended for the next 80 due to a positive PED test.
The 33-year-old native of Curaçao was set to play for the Netherlands in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. He will now be ineligible for the tournament and be forced to miss the postseason. On top of that, he will forfeit his entire $15 million salary for the season.
Jurickson Profar suspension timelines
Profar had a career year for the Padres in 2024. He notched career highs in batting average (.280), on-base percentage (.380), slugging (.459), home runs (24), RBIs (85), wRC+ (139), and fWAR (4.3). He made his first All-Star team and won a Silver Slugger. His performance that season led him to sign a three-year, $42 million deal with Atlanta on January 23, 2025. He was projected to be a middle-of-the-order bat for the Braves.
After his team opened the season with a four-game stint in San Diego, it was announced on March 31 that Profar had failed a test for PEDs. He was suspended for 80 games and ruled ineligible for the postseason. At the time, Profar released a statement denying knowingly taking a banned substance.
Profar returned on July 2 and became a regular in the Braves’ lineup for the rest of the season. He struggled initially, but got it together in August when he posted a 1.026 OPS, launched nine home runs and drove in 26 RBIs. He followed that with a weak September. For the season, Profar slashed .245/.333/.398, with 14 home runs, 43 RBIs and a solid 122 wRC+ in 80 games.
In 2026, Profar was again expected to be a key piece of Atlanta’s lineup. He underwent surgery for a sports hernia this offseason and was projected as the team’s DH. Instead, it looks like he’ll be sidelined for the entire season. As things stand, he’ll enter 2027 with one year left on his contract.
He was part of Curaçao’s Little League World Series winning team in 2004, and was back with the team in 2005 when it lost in the championship game. He signed with the Rangers in 2009 as an international free agent and rose to become baseball’s No. 1 prospect.
He debuted for the Rangers in 2012, but injuries and inconsistency saw him never rise to his potential. He was traded to the Athletics in December of 2018 and spent a season there before the A’s swapped him to the Padres. He spent three seasons in San Diego, finding moderate success as a regular.
Profar signed with the Rockies as a free agent in 2023 and had a dismal year, slashing .236/.316/.364 with eight home runs and 39 RBIs in 111 games with Colorado. He was released in late August, and the Padres picked him up to finish the season. San Diego then re-signed him for $1 million before the 2024 campaign.
Now Profar faces a career crossroads for the second year in a row.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jurickson Profar Fails Second PED Test, Faces 162-Game Suspension.
