Coming off a career year at the plate, veteran outfielder Jurickson Profar has agreed to a three-year deal, $42 million with the Braves, the team announced Thursday.
This past season with the San Diego Padres, Profar in 158 games batted .280/.380/.459 with 24 home runs, 29 doubles, and 10 stolen bases for a Pads team that won 93 games and made the postseason. Coming into last season, Profar had a career OPS+ of 92, but in 2024 he had an OPS+ of 134. Because Profar backed up his surge at the plate with impressive batted-ball indicators, the Braves are betting that what he did last year is sustainable for the time being.
Earlier in the offseason, CBS Sports ranked Profar as the No. 25 available free agent in the current class. Here’s part of our write-up:
How much do you believe? You can run the numbers. You can watch the tape. You can consult with projection systems. You can chat with an oracle. Ultimately, player evaluation is a test of faith. No matter how you reached your conclusion, the whole thing reduces down to this: how much conviction do you hold in it? Are you willing to be wrong? If not, you’re already lost. All of this is relevant to Profar, a fascinating study case. The former No. 1 prospect finally made good on that billing, notching his first star-caliber season at the plate at age 31. The underlying measures all pointed in the right direction: he hit the ball with greater authority; he walked more; he struck out less. If he were five years younger, he’d be in line for a handsome payday. He’s not, though, so his marketplace reception hinges on how teams answer this capsule’s first question.
Profar, who will turn 32 in February, has for his career a WAR of 8.5 across parts of 11 MLB seasons. This past season he earned his first All-Star appearance and won his first Silver Slugger Award.
The fit on the Braves is two-fold.
First, Profar could end up the everyday left fielder. Others in the mix would be Bryan De La Cruz and Jarred Kelenic and Profar had the best season in 2024 of the three. De La Cruz swings right-handed while Kelenic is a lefty and Profar is a switch-hitter.
The second reason, and possibly why this signing happened so late in the offseason, would be the knee injury to Ronald Acuña Jr. last season. He tore his ACL and might be ready to start the season, but it’s also possible he’ll open the season on the injured list. The Athletic recently reported that the Braves want Acuña’s return to “go at a slower pace” than last time he was returning from ACL surgery, “knowing Acuña perhaps came back too quickly in ’22.”
The signing of Profar now leaves the Braves the chance to platoon Kelenic and De La Cruz in right field while Profar holds down left field, should they so choose. The next corner outfielder on the roster before the Profar deal was Eli White, so this move marks an upgrade.
The Braves won the World Series in 2021 and followed it up with two 100-win seasons and a wild card last year, but they’ve yet to win a playoff series since that championship in ’21.
As for the Padres without Profar, there’s a void in left field. Right now, it looks like some combination of Tirso Ornelas, Tyler Wade and Brandon Lockridge could be used in left to start the season barring any more moves.
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