Major League Baseball handed Atlanta Braves designated hitter Jurickson Profar a 162-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug for the second time.
The suspension will start Friday. Profar previously received an 80-game ban in March 2025 for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy. At that time, he tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone that produces testosterone. He most recently tested positive for exogenous testosterone and its metabolites.
"We were incredibly disappointed to learn that Jurickson tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance and is in violation of MLB’s drug prevention and treatment program," the Braves said in a statement Tuesday. "Our players are consistently educated about the program and the consequences if they are found to be in violation. The Atlanta Braves fully support the program."
The 2024 All-Star will surrender his $15-million salary for 2026 and is ineligible for the postseason. Profar is also no longer allowed to represent the Netherlands in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
Profar is the seventh player to receive a 162-game suspension since MLB increased the penalty for repeat offenders in 2014. A third positive test carries a lifetime ban.
The MLBPA plans to file a grievance to challenge Profar's looming suspension, a source told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
The Braves signed Profar to a three-year, $42-million contract in January 2025. He hit 14 homers with 43 RBIs and a .787 OPS in 80 contests last season.
A season-long ban for the 33-year-old is another blow to Atlanta before the 2026 campaign begins. The club is already without starting pitchers Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep due to elbow injuries, and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim will be sidelined four-to-five months following hand surgery in January.
