A lot has changed since the Atlanta Braves signed Jurickson Profar out of free agency. At the time, Profar was exactly the type of signing that fans were clamoring for, and he was coming off a strong season with the Padres that gave hope that he would give their lineup a nice boost over the following three years. After two PED suspensions in two years, that hope has quickly become a nightmare that everyone has wanted to move on from.
In theory, the Braves' decision with Profar should be straightforward. The guy has been caught cheating twice now, and Profar has since gone radio silent and shown no public contrition for his actions. Any reasonable person would say that the team needs to move on and cut their losses, but the Braves are on the hook for $15 million in dead money if they did that.
The money owed to Profar has made the speculation around Profar's future trickier to forecast, but Braves insider Mark Bowman still thinks that there is no world where the Braves will bring Profar back. Given his logic, it is hard to argue with his premise.
Jurickson Profar's remaining salary is not a good enough reason for the Braves to keep him around
This isn't the first time that the Braves have had to deal with the future of a player of very questionable character. Marcell Ozuna's legal issues forced a reckoning of their own for the Braves, and Atlanta opted to keep him around. However, that is where the similarities end.
Unlike Ozuna, there is no evidence whatsoever that the Braves' clubhouse would tolerate Profar's return. Ozuna was very well-liked, for better or worse, despite his arrests, and already had a track record of playing well for the team. In Profar, they have a guy who got suspended almost immediately upon his arrival, was given a chance to redeem himself in 2025, and promptly got suspended for the entire season. Even if you look for the best in people and believe in second chances, there is little incentive to give the guy a shot, as there is no guarantee that he would even be worth the playing time as long as he has been out.
Would it suck to just be out the $15 million? Of course it would be. That money could go a long way towards addressing any number of roster issues, including Atlanta's ongoing shortstop issues. However, bringing Profar back at this point not only wouldn't help the Braves' offense in all likelihood, but it could create some serious problems in their clubhouse as well. $15 million is a high price to pay, but it is one the Braves need to pay anyway.
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