Return of Jurickson Profar Gives Braves Hope For Offensive Spark

Regardless of the doubts brought on by why Profar was absent, there is a needed reality check: It can't get much worse

Time to see what Profar can do | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Eighty games have come and gone, and Jurickson Profar is now eligible to return to the Atlanta Braves lineup. He was removed midway through his final rehab assignment game with Triple-A Gwinnett, finishing the night 1-for-2 with a run scored.

He finished his 13-game stint with Gwinnett batting .333 with a .990 OPS, three home runs, six total base hits and nine RBIs. It was a promising stint for what could be to come with a strong finish in the final games. He batted .375 with a .687 slugging over his last five games.

With how well he's hitting, the promise goes a long way to potentially helping the big-league team.

"I look at it as he's going to be good for our lineup," Snitker said Tuesday night. "He's going to give us an impactful switch hitter in the middle of our lineup. I feel good about getting him back and putting him in there. Hopefully, he can spark us and do something to help us get things going."

In theory, even if Profar isn't his All-Star self, he couldn't be much worse than the other options that have been playing in left field. Left fielders have combined for two home runs this season, and both are from Eli White. Alex Verdugo, Stuart Fairchild and former Braves outfielder Bryan De La Cruz have no home runs to their name.

Outside of Ronald Acuña Jr., the outfield production still hasn't been great. Jarred Kelenic found himself back in Triple-A before the end of April, and Michael Harris II had to sit out a couple of games in the hopes of clearing his head over the weekend.

Having the solution being a player who potentially had his lone All-Star season a year ago due to performance enhancing drugs isn't the best either. Profar is returning from an 80-game suspension that was levied due to a positive test for Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG), a hormone that helps in the production of testosterone.

That all being said, the Braves are still paying him for the next two and a half seasons. Frankly, it doesn't matter right now if he's ineligible for postseason play since the Braves are seven and a half games away from a playoff spot. He was brought in this winter to help stabilize the lineup, and he might still do that.