Braves Players React to Jurickson Profar PED Suspension

NORTH PORT – The Atlanta Braves received more brutal news on Tuesday with the announcement that left fielder Jurickson Profar would be suspended for the entire 2026 MLB season. Profar failed the second drug test in as many years for performance-enhancing drugs.

The Braves’ major free agency signing from 2025 will end the second season in Atlanta, having appeared in just 80 games. He appeared in just three games last season before receiving the half-season suspension that played a crucial role in derailing the club’s season. Profar returned and played acceptably, but the season had already been lost.

Now that the Braves are again being subjected to the mistakes of their left fielder’s poor decision-making, they will now be scrambling to replace him again this season. Last year, the other players in the clubhouse chose to support their teammate, but it was widely speculated on social media that the second failed drug test may lead them to air more frustrations.

To that end, a similar scenario unfolded in the clubhouse this time around.

Manager Walt Weiss addressed the suspension earlier in the day. As for his teammates, MLB Braves insider Mark Bowman posted the reactions of several leaders in the clubhouse from Wednesday morning before the team’s spring training matchup.

Third Baseman Austin Riley

“It’s unfortunate, but where my mind went – and hopefully the clubhouse’s mind went – is just that we have an ultimate goal and a job to do. We’ve got to come in here and push forward. We’ve got another opportunity for somebody else. It’s unfortunate, but we’ve got to prepare for Opening Day.”

First Baseman Matt Olson

“It doesn’t affect how we’re going about things, individually and as a team. [We’ll] continue to get our work done. Obviously, he’s not going to be here, but we’ve got a good group of dudes, and we’ll plan to continue.

“I can’t put any word to it,” Olson continued. “It’s obviously not the scenario that we wanted to see ourselves in, but it’s one of those things where it is what it is, and nothing we can do about it. Just have to go out and keep getting ready for the season.”

Starting Pitcher Chris Sale

“I think it was tough. This time of year, we’re all getting prepared for the season, and there’s a lot of stuff we’ve got to do to get prepared. And this is not good news, not what you want to hear.

“I think the main thing for this clubhouse right now is to focus on the things that we can control,” Sale continued. “And focus on the important things, no matter what happens. No matter if it’s a situation like this, or an injury, or if it’s 40 degrees and raining, or it’s 110 degrees during a day game. We’ve got to focus on getting ourselves ready for the season, mentally and physically, for the grind of a 162-game season, plus the playoffs, and put our focus on that.”

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Starting Pitcher Spencer Strider

“It’s a surprise, of course, I wasn’t expecting that to happen. But you’ve gotta go back to what you were doing. To me, it’s like an injury. It’s like anything else. We still have the rest of spring and the 2026 season. That’s where our focus is going to be. That’s where it was before we found out about that, and nothing’s changed in that regard.

“There’s going to be injuries, there’s going to be adversity. At no point did everybody think that the roster we leave with, from here, is going to be our roster in the last bit of the season. From that standpoint, it’s adversity. You just have to keep going towards what you were working on.”