Jurickson Profar will be missing out on quite the payday after testing positive for one of MLB’s banned substances.
Profar was slapped with a 162-game suspension on Tuesday after Exogenous Testosterone, a performance-enhancing drug, was detected in his system. It’s the second time in Profar’s career that he has been hit with a PED-related suspension.
The Atlanta Braves outfielder was suspended for the first 80 games of the 2025 season after similarly testing positive for a banned substance, which Profar swore he did not take intentionally.
Profar is in the second year of the 3-year, $42 million contract the Braves signed him to before the start of last season. The Curaçaoan slugger will forfeit his $15 million salary for the 2026 campaign because of the suspension. The financial blow comes a year after he lost about $6 million in wages due to his previous suspension.
Profar is one PED strike away from being hit with a lifetime ban from MLB. The 33-year-old would be able to apply for reinstatement, but would automatically miss at least two seasons. Even if he were reinstated, such a ban would wipe away two of his remaining prime seasons.
In his first season with the Braves, Profar hit .245 at the plate with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs with an OPS of .787 across 80 games. He was fresh off his first All-Star campaign with the San Diego Padres in 2024, wherein he recorded 24 home runs and even earned a few MVP votes.
