A Rerun on 'Roids in Atlanta

Haven't we seen this movie a jillion times? How in the world can baseball players still be getting caught using steroids?

And how can an offense of that sort not obviate an otherwise "guaranteed" contract. Shrug.

For the Atlanta Braves, it's an embarrassing situation at best. The most significant free-agent signing Atlanta had post -2024 was Jurickson Profar. He was inked to a three year contract reportedly worth 42 million .,, guaranteed. He was brought in to shore up the Braves' moderately chronic problem securing daily conpetency in left field. Profar's arrival was also touted as a welcome boost for the Braves' offense, especially early in this season, prior to Ronald Acuna's planned return. For the last several years, the Braves' choices in left field offered fielding proficiency or batting production- but not both. He was going to help with that.

But following four straight losses to start the 2025 season in San Diego, Profar and the Braves learned from the league that he will be unavailable for the next 80 games, and for any post-season. He tested positive for PEDs. This is strike one for him. Unlike baseball, in the banned substance game, it's two strikes and you're out– as in banned.

This news was jarring for several reasons. One, he was the only shiny bauble obtained this past offseason by the Atlanta front office. Two, his acquisition now represents a rare misstep by Alex Anthopolus in making savvy trades and securing high value free agent help. Three, the Braves are still on the hook for the big contract, minus the pro-rata deduction for games missed. And fourth,–and worst-this revelation opens to question the marked improvement Profar showed last year. Meaning, his integrity is in question.

Of course, we are not privy to whatever hard constraints under which Anthopoulus works . And we don't know what deals he almost made this past winter. But we do know that spring arrived with one marquee acquisition.- Profar.

Other needs– shortstop , starting pitching and bullpen help– were not addressed in any big way ( though the jury is still out on SS Nick Allen, who looks to be a bargain so far)

Undeniably, when you look at Profar's body of work in tbe majors, 2024 stands out. In his 11th year in the bigs, Profar batted .280 with 24 homers and 85 RBI. His OPS of .839 was far higher than any of the preceding four years, and a click better than his previous career-best mark of .793 in 2018.

Last year's improvement had been ascribed to changes in his swing that were hatched during his 2023 post- season. That's a bit unusual for Year 11 in a player's career, but the Braves felt ok about it.

Maybe that's all there is to it. And maybe not. Maybe the better numbers in 2024 were the result of performance enhancing drugs.

Profar's statement did not shed much light on the story.

It read, "It is because of my deep love and respect for this game that I would never knowingly do anything to cheat it. 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. "

That statement represents a fairly artful employment of the English language. Profar accepts " full responsibility ", but also says he would never knowingly, or willingly, take a banned substance.

Huh? Are we to believe this PED use happened against his will? If so, assault charges may be in order. If he took PEDS unknowingly​, how did it happen? Who is the nurse or clinician or pharmacist who produced and administered the medication?

To borrow a bromide from another sport, Bear Bryant once gave a good recipe for addressing a mistake. " Admit it , learn from it, and don't repeat it", said the Bear.

That's a good summary of how best to handle a misstep.

Profar's explanation falls far short of Bryant's standard. He says he accepts responsibility, but he has not publicly given any details on how . The " unknowing and unwilling " descriptors don't square up.

You can't quite tell which of the old familiar approaches from a generation ago that Profar is using. The stonewall approach from McGwire and Bonds? The defiance of Raphael Palmeiro is not there. And Profar did not suddenly forget how to speak English, a la Sammy Sosa.

In fact, the parsing of his statement would make Bill Clinton proud. He has ".. never tested positive "?

That's OK to say out loud, but it's not the same as saying "I have not used PED's". And that language is not incidental.

I can correctly say the I've not gotten a speeding ticket in my hometown in the past 10 years. That does not assert that I have not exceeded the speed limit during that time.

If Profar really wants to accept responsibility, and if he does accept MLB's decision, how about turning down the three- year guaranteed contract. That would be a gesture that says that the Braves have " unknowingly and unwillingly " made a commitment to a player who has misrepresented what he will bring to the team. Is there not verbiage in a standard agreement that speaks to a consequence if one party or the other misrepresents what is to be obtained in the transaction?

Perhaps the entire deal is not nixed, but the terms can be renegotiated.

Meanwhile, Brian Snitker stays in quiet resolve mode. His take on the new- and-now-gone left fielder?

" Well, this will be an opportunity for someone else ", said the Braves manager. He must be in deja mode, harkening back to the bad/ crazy year that was 2024, where he employed dozens of different lineups to get through the year, somehow eking into the playoffs for a minute.

For the moment, the Braves will fall back on the fact that the baseball season is long and laborious, with lots of twists and turns. Even the mighty Dodgers will encounter some tough stretches. So will the almost- mighty Padres.

The Braves will gravitate toward their lofty expectations. At this stage of 2025, they've played nine games and won just one. They're better than thst.

No team has ever started 0-7 and made the playoffs. But 12 teams do make the playoffs each year in MLB, and the Braves have the specter of adding back to their lineup Ronald Acuna and Spencer Stryder in the next few weeks.

Plus they will regain Profar in late June. Just how well he will mesh with his teammates or the front office remains to be seen.

So there's reason for optimism. Including the obvious fact that things can't get worse.

There are 153 games left to play. That's a lot of baseball. In the meantime, maybe Snitker and staff want to bend their philosophy a bit. Rather than waiting for the three- run Homer, consider a little small ball. Twice in their most recent loss to the Marlins, the Braves had a leadoff hitter advance to scoring position– one on a double, another on a triple. On neither occasion did the runner advance. Some combination of strikeouts and pop flies kept the Braves from scoring​. They were shutout for the third time in nine games.

Do something different when opportunity knocks.

And certainly advise all players under contract on the hidden risks of taking steroids unknowingly and unwillingly. In the old days, when a player was needled by a teammate, it meant teasing or taunting.

That was a simpler time. Or maybe not– Casey Stengel once said of an opposing pitcher," I don't know if he throws a spitball, but I know he spits on the ball".

That's a linguistic twist that even Profar's writers can admire.

Patrick Conarro