Profar prepping to DH for Braves after offseason hernia surgery

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Having already missed nearly all of the regular season’s first half while serving a performance-enhancing drug suspension, Jurickson Profar chose to endure the discomfort he felt while playing in September. But lingering limitations led him to undergo sports hernia surgery in November.

“I was playing through it,” Profar said. “But then when I started my offseason workouts, I couldn't hold it anymore.”

Profar recovered for six weeks and then began his normal offseason preparations. He arrived in Braves camp without any remaining groin discomfort and without any restrictions. In fact, he’s just a couple weeks away from playing for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.

The Curaçao native is excited for the opportunity to play for his childhood idol Andruw Jones, who will serve as the Netherlands’ manager. But he certainly doesn’t seem thrilled about the likelihood he will open this season as the Braves’ primary designated hitter.

Asked if he was familiar with the DH spot, Profar chuckled and said, “I don’t know, we’ll see.”

Profar was then asked, “DH isn’t your favorite spot?” This time, he grimaced, laughed and said, “Let’s see. Let’s see. Let’s see. I’m just here to help the team.”

Braves manager Wait Weiss understood and appreciated Profar's response.

"To be honest, I don't think any player is raising their hand, unless they're a full-time DH, to say, 'Yeah, I mean, that's what I want to do,'" Weiss said. "He's a great teammate. We've had this conversation. [Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos] even called him before he signed [outfielder Mike] Yastrzemski to clear it with him."

The defensive metrics prove Profar can help the Braves much more with his bat than he can with his glove. He ranked 28th out of 33 qualified left fielders with -6 Outs Above Average last year. This was in line with what he did in 2024, when he ranked 30th out of 40 qualified left fielders with -5 OAA.

By signing Yastrzemski this winter, the Braves created a chance to improve their outfield defense. Yastrzemski isn’t a Gold Glove candidate, but he has the ability to play each of the three outfield spots and is at least closer to average defensively than Profar.

Yastrzemski will serve as the Braves’ left fielder against right-handed starters. But because he struggles against left-handers, Atlanta could choose to have either Eli White or Profar serve as the left fielder when the opponent starts a southpaw.

With White being the superior defensive option, it would seemingly make sense for him to play left field and keep Profar in the DH spot, especially on those days when reigning National League Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin is catching.

Baldwin could spend some time as the Braves’ DH while fellow catcher Sean Murphy remains sidelined into May while recovering from right hip surgery. But Baldwin will serve as the primary catcher during this span and may need an occasional day off. So, he won’t necessarily serve as the DH during every game he isn’t behind the plate.

When Murphy returns, Baldwin might get more consistent time as the DH. But it looks like Profar will be the primary DH while Murphy remains on the injured list.

Regardless of the role, Profar should have plenty more opportunities to help the Braves this year. He was four games into a three-year, $42 million deal when he was handed an 80-game suspension for testing positive for Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), a performance-enhancing substance that is in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

So, instead of making a good first impression with his new employer, he remained away from the club before being reinstated. He posted an .878 OPS over his first 53 games back from suspension and then had just a .625 OPS over 23 games in September.

There’s now reason to think those late struggles were related to the discomfort alleviated by November’s surgery. So, Profar is ready to start anew with the hope that year two in Atlanta will be far better than year one.

“Last year wasn’t a really good year for me and the team, but the team is looking really, really good,” Profar said. “I’m just here ready to help the team make the postseason and go from there.”