Jurickson Profar upended his career and the Atlanta Braves’ season for a second consecutive year after testing positive for a banned substance, a second offense that will result in a 162-game ban for the 2026 season, Major League Baseball announced March 3.
Profar tested positive for exogenous testosterone, MLB said, a performance-enhancing substance banned from Olympic competition since 1976 and classified as a steroid in the U.S. since 1990, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Profar, 33, was entering the first season of a three-year, $42 million contract when he was suspended March 31, 2025, just four games into last season, after a positive test for a fertility drug classified as a performing-enhancing substance. He was suspended 80 games and returned July 2, hitting 14 homers with a .787 OPS over the remaining 80 games.
This suspension will be far more costly.
Profar will lose his entire 2026 salary of $15 million, bringing his docked pay for his two positive tests to around $21 million over two seasons. He’s also ineligible to represent the Netherlands in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
Profar was entering his 13th major league season after debuting as a 19-year-old in 2012. He earned his first All-Star appearance in 2024 for the San Diego Padres, establishing career bests in home runs (24) and OPS (.839), prompting the Braves to sign him as their left fielder entering 2025.
Now, he won’t be seen on the Truist Field diamond until 2027.
Profar joins five other players to earn at least a 162-game ban under MLB’s policy, most notably Robinson Cano, who earned two suspensions amid a $240 million contract he originally signed with Seattle, the bans sidetracking what looked like a Hall of Fame career.
For the Braves, the timing is certainly suboptimal though not as bad as last season, when the season had started and they scrambled to fill Profar’s absence, eventually signing free agent Alex Verdugo. This year, they can roll out Mike Yastrzemski in an enhanced role, but Profar’s absence will hamper their depth significantly.
