Predicting Padres-Braves Trade to Fill Major Holes After Jurickson Profar Suspension

The Atlanta Braves were dealt a significant blow on Tuesday when it was reported All-Star Jurickson Profar tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and could be suspended for the entire 2026 season.

Profar joined the Braves ahead of the 2025 season after a career year with the Padres in 2024. He tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug just days into the 2025 season, and was suspended for 80 games.

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Now, the 33-year-old is set to miss the entire 2026 season and will forgo his $15 million salary. The Braves now have a clear hole in the lineup, one the Padres can help them fill while also fixing one of their biggest issues.

Padres-Braves Trade Proposal

Padres Receive: RHP Bryce Elder

Braves Receive: OF Bryce Johnson

Why This Trade Makes Sense for the Padres

This is the rare one-for-one trade that helps both teams.

The Padres have a major hole in the back of their rotation, which will currently be filled by one of Germán Márquez, Walker Buehler, JP Sears, Marco Gonzales or Triston McKenzie. However, none of those players have shown anything thus far in spring training to warrant winning that competition.

Rather than rely on one of these veteran castoffs, the Padres can take a chance on Elder, a former All-Star who's struggled mightily over the last two years.

Elder burst onto the scene with a 3.17 ERA across 54 innings in 2022. He then made 31 starts in 2023, sporting a 3.81 ERA and making an All-Star appearance.

Since then, it's been ugly.

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Elder made just 10 starts in 2024, accruing a 6.52 ERA. He then made 28 starts in 2025, sporting a 5.30 ERA. He ranked toward the bottom of MLB in several significant categories such as fastball velocity, average exit velocity, strikeout percentage, whiff percentage and hard-hit percentage.

Nevertheless, Elder is just 26 years old and under team control through 2030. He would be a perfect candidate to work with pitching coach Ruben Niebla to unlock some of his previous success. If he's able to return to form, he could be a steal for the back of the Padres' rotation for the foreseeable future.

If not, the Padres are moving off of a player in Johnson who is out of options and may not make the Opening Day roster.

Why This Trade Makes Sense for the Braves

This trade helps the Braves in the immediate aftermath of the Profar news.

The Braves pick up an outfielder in Johnson who hit .342 last season with an OPS of .817 across 55 games. He's a versatile outfielder with elite speed who's under team control until 2031.

While the Braves may be "selling low" on Elder, he's also out of options and could very well be lost for nothing if Atlanta doesn't want him on the active roster. This way, they at least get an outfielder who showed signs of being an above-average major leaguer last year to replace Profar.

After making this trade, the Braves can then use the money they saved from Profar's suspension to sign a top free agent starting pitcher to replace Elder, such as Zack Littell or Lucas Giolito.

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