Profar, 33 later this week, finds himself in a precarious spot as he enters his second season with Atlanta. The switch-hitter’s 2024 campaign with the Padres was nothing short of phenomenal and saw him live up to his reputation as the sport’s former No. 1 prospect. He earned his first career All-Star appearance and the Silver Slugger award that year, slashing .280/.380/.459 with a 139 wRC+. He hit 24 home runs and stole ten bases in 158 games, combining a strikeout rate of 15.1% with a walk rate of 11.4%. That brilliant season landed Profar a three-year, $42 million contract in Atlanta, but his time with the Braves was almost immediately derailed by a PED suspension. As a result, he had to serve an 80-game suspension, which wiped out the first half of his 2025 season.
When Profar returned to Atlanta, he managed to pick up more or less where he left off. In 355 plate appearances from his recovery in July through the end of the season, Profar slashed .248/.358/.446 with 14 home runs and nine steals. He struck out 15.8% of the time while walking at a phenomenal 13.2% clip, giving him a total wRC+ of 126. Profar’s use of a performance-enhancing drug will certainly cast doubt on his grades for some, and as the veteran gets deeper into his 30s, he will certainly face age-related decline. But for now, it’s easy to pencil in the switch-hitter as a likely above-average contributor to the Braves lineup.
These contributions will mainly come from DH, at least to start the year. Profar doesn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about the change. Bowman notes that when asked if he played mainly DH this year, he “gritted his teeth, grinned and made it clear he’s not excited about the role.” Yet Profar said (as noted by Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that he is willing to help the team however he can.
To that end, it’s hard to argue that Profar isn’t at DH on the best version of this Braves roster. He has long been one of the weakest defenders in the sport, both in terms of defensive metrics and DH Marcell Ozuna replaced in the line-up by the defensively solid Mike Yastrzemski it makes a lot of sense to get him off the grass. Perhaps that could change at some point in the season, depending on the performance and health of the club’s other outfielders. Another potential x-factor could be Sean Murphywho will start the year on the injured list but could play a role in the DH mix (alongside fellow catcher Drake Baldwin) upon his return to action.
But for now, the Braves will have to take every advantage they can get as they try to make up ground against the Phillies and Mets in the NL East. The club is coming off its worst season since Alex Anthopoulos took over baseball operations in 2018, and a full season of benefiting from healthy and effective Profar numbers is one way Atlanta will look to get back on track. Of course, they also need better health and productivity from the rest of a lineup that includes key players like Austin Riley, Michael Harris IIAnd Ozzie Albies taking steps backwards at the court last year, and better health for pitchers like Chris Sales And Reynaldo López will also be crucial.
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