It’s not too often that a guy puts up a .280/.380/.459/139 wRC+, 4.3-WAR season and then has a completely silent free agency. But Jurickson Profar’s situation was a bit unique, given how uneven his performance had been before 2024, his age going into 2025 (32), and his lack of a good defensive home. It was just hard to know exactly which teams were going to be in on him, and to what financial extent.
So, no, I did not have the Atlanta Braves on my radar for Profar, but then I didn’t really have any team on my radar.
But the Braves it is, per multiple reports, including ESPN’s Jeff Passan on X. No details yet on the dollars and years.
Given that the Braves have one of the league’s best DH’s in Marcell Ozuna, you have to presume that Profar will work into the outfield mix, probably mostly in left field. I suppose he also offers a little protection for Ronald Acuรฑa Jr.’s return from a second ACL tear, and could let the Braves rest him a bit more frequently.
This was a good read, by the way, on Profar’s unique situation:
UPDATE: It’s three years and $42 million for Profar, which feels just about right when balancing the risks and the upside. It feels like the Braves are rarely wrong on deals like this, though, so I tentatively expect him to be yet another boost to that offense.