By: Michael Spiers

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Here we go again.

For the second straight March, the Atlanta Braves are opening camp with a Jurickson Profar suspension hanging over the franchise.

Only this time it is not 80 games. It is 162. A full season. Gone.

And at this point, it is fair to ask a simple question: what exactly did the Braves buy?

When Atlanta signed Profar to a three year, 42 million dollar deal after his career year in San Diego, it felt like a savvy move.

He had just hit .280 with 24 home runs, 85 runs batted in, an All Star nod and a Silver Slugger. The Braves needed another professional bat to lengthen the lineup behind Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson and Austin Riley.

Profar looked like a veteran piece who had finally figured it out. Instead, what Atlanta has received is chaos.

Last season, four games in, Profar was suspended 80 games for testing positive for human chorionic gonadotropin. He returned midseason, hit .245 with 14 home runs, and the Braves tried to turn the page.

They publicly expressed disappointment but support. They hoped he would learn from it. Now this.

A second positive test. A full year ban. Fifteen million dollars forfeited. Ineligible for the postseason. Ineligible for the World Baseball Classic. And perhaps most damaging, ineligible for trust.

Major League Baseball increased penalties for repeat offenders in 2014. Since then, only six players have received a 162 game suspension, and now Profar joins that list. That is not company any organization wants to keep.

And this is not just about numbers on a stat sheet. This is about credibility in the clubhouse.

Whit Merrifield, who finished his career in Atlanta just months ago, posted a pointed question on social media: what other profession can you get caught cheating to gain an unfair advantage on your peers and still keep your job?

That sentiment is likely not isolated. I believe ballplayers understand slumps. They understand injuries. They understand bad luck. What they do not tolerate easily is a teammate cutting corners and putting the team in jeopardy. Especially twice.

From a purely baseball perspective, the Braves can try to spin this as manageable. They have some depth.

Sean Murphy’s return could allow Drake Baldwin to spend more time as a hitter. The lineup still features Acuna, Olson, Riley, Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II. Mike Yastrzemski was brought in to help.

But that misses the larger point. The Braves are not simply replacing a designated hitter. They are replacing stability.

This franchise entered the offseason trying to rebound from a 76 and 86 win season.

Injuries to Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep have already thinned the pitching depth. Questions linger around Spencer Strider’s velocity. And now, before Opening Day, another major storyline overshadows everything.

Profar was supposed to be a bounce back story. Instead, he is a cautionary tale.

It is also fair to wonder about the 2024 breakout that earned him the contract in the first place. Fair or not, suspicion will follow. That is the cost of multiple violations.

Financially, the Braves save the 15 million dollars he forfeits this season. But they cannot recoup the lost momentum, the distraction, or the erosion of trust.

And practically speaking, his time in Atlanta feels finished. Even if an appeal reduces the penalty, how does the organization sell that return to its fan base? How does the clubhouse welcome it?

The Braves have built a culture over the past decade around professionalism and internal development. This situation cuts directly against that identity.

Championship windows do not stay open forever. They require talent, health and trust. Right now, Atlanta is battling injuries, facing roster uncertainty, and dealing with a self-inflicted wound that never needed to happen.

Jurickson Profar was supposed to help extend the Braves’ contention window.

Instead, twice now, he has helped shrink it.