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Jurickson Profar suspension, explained: Why Braves OF received 162-game ban for second career PED violation originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
For the second time in a year, Atlanta Braves outfielder/designated hitter Jurickson Profar is facing a suspension from Major League Baseball.
Profar missed around half of the 2025 season due to a violation of the league's performance-enhancing drug policies. Now, with around a month until the 2026 regular season begins, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported on Tuesday that Profar is facing a 162-game suspension for another PED violation.
The Braves slugger, who was an All-Star with the San Diego Padres in 2024, becomes the sixth player to receive a 162-game ban, equivalent to a full MLB season, since the league increased the second-time-offender penalty in 2014. The MLBPA plans to challenge Profar's 162-game suspension, per Ken Rosenthal.
Here's what to know about Jurickson Profar's second MLB suspension.
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Why was Jurickson Profar suspended?
Passan reported Tuesday that Profar tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, which resulted in his second MLB suspension in the past year. Officially, MLB suspended Profar for taking Exogenous Testosterone.
According to Ken Rosenthal, the MLBPA will be challenging MLB's decision to suspend Profar 162 games.
As a second-time offender of the league's PED policies, Profar is facing a 162-game suspension, which would result in him forfeiting the entirety of his $15 million salary and becoming ineligible for the postseason, per Passan. There have not yet been reported details about the substance Profar tested positive for.
Profar, 33, was also set to participate in the upcoming 2026 World Baseball Classic for Team Netherlands. Should his suspension stand, he will be ineligible for the tournament.
In March 2025, Profar was suspended for the first time by MLB, testing positive for human chorionic gonadotropin, which is a hormone typically made during pregnancy that can encourage testosterone production.
He is entering the second year of a three-year, $42 million deal he signed with Atlanta in January 2025, initially projected to become a key piece of the Braves' lineup after being an All-Star in 2024. Last season, after returning from his suspension, Profar hit .245/.353/.434 with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs. He was expected to be the Braves' designated hitter in the 2026 season, but will now likely be sidelined once again.
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What is MLB's PED policy?
MLB's Joint Drug Agreement, last updated in 2022, states that all players are prohibited from using, possessing, selling, facilitating the sale of, distributing, or facilitating the distribution of any drug of abuse, human growth hormone (HGH) or steroid. Players are tested for banned substances regularly during the season.
Discipline for users of "drugs of abuse" is not the same as users of PEDs. A first-time offender of the PED policy is suspended for 80 games, a second-time offender 162 games, and a third time offender is given a lifetime ban.
Profar becomes the sixth player to receive a ban of 162 games by MLB since it increased its second-offender penalties in 2014. The others were Jenrry Mejia (2015), who later received a lifetime ban, along with Marlon Byrd (2016), Francis Martes (2020), Robinson Cano (2020) and J.C. Mejia (2023).
Jurickson Profar suspension history
Profar received a 162-game suspension from MLB because he is a second-time offender of the league's PED policies. In March 2025, he received an 80-game suspension from the league after testing positive for human chorionic gonadotropin.
At the time, MLBPA released a statement on behalf of Profar, which said he tested positive for the banned substance in the offseason.
"It is because of my deep love and respect for this game that I would never knowingly do anything to cheat it," Profar's 2025 statement read. "I have been tested my entire career, including eight times last season alone, and have never tested positive. I would never willingly take a banned substance, but I take full responsibility and accept MLB's decision."
Profar went on to return from his 2025 suspension in July, and he hit 14 home runs and 43 RBIs while playing left field for the Braves.
Can Jurickson Profar still play in the World Baseball Classic?
Profar, who was on the Netherlands' roster alongside his brother, would no longer be eligible to play in the 2026 World Baseball Classic if his MLB suspension stands.
At the time, his projected replacement on Netherlands' roster is unknown.
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When will Jurickson Profar return?
Should his suspension be confirmed, Profar will be out of MLB for the entire 2026 season. He would miss all 162 of the Braves' regular-season games, then also be ineligible for the postseason.
The earliest Profar could return to the field after his projected suspension is the 2027 season.
Jurickson Profar contract
Profar is entering the second year of a three-year, $42 million deal contract he signed with the Braves in January 2025. His deal came after a career year with the Padres, as he hit 24 home runs with 85 RBIs in 2024.
Profar, who is a former top minor-league prospect, came up into MLB with the Texas Rangers, but struggled to produce at a star level, also having stints in Oakland and Colorado. After his strong All-Star year in San Diego, he cashed in with his Braves contract to become a big piece of the team's lineup.
Instead, after appearing in 80 games last season due to his suspension, Profar is currently set to not play his age-33 season with Atlanta.
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