Brutal day for Braves — PED suspension, injury — ends with loss to Dodgers for 0-5 start

New York Times

01-04-2025

LOS ANGELES — If the Atlanta Braves figured things couldn't get any worse after totaling seven runs while being swept in a season-opening four-game series at San Diego, they learned otherwise Monday.
Braves left fielder Jurickson Profar was suspended 80 games by Major League Baseball after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, and starting pitcher Reynaldo López was placed on the injured list with what the team hoped was only shoulder inflammation, though he will have an MRI to rule out anything more.
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'It's unfortunate, but we've got to play baseball,' Braves third baseman Austin Riley said of the double dose of dispiriting developments. 'That's all we can do. We've got to play baseball. We had a tough one in San Diego, and we're worried about what's in front of us now and that's the Dodgers.'
A few hours later, the Braves fell behind 2-0 in the first inning of their series opener at Dodger Stadium when Grant Holmes walked leadoff man Shohei Ohtani and gave up a sizzling 436-foot, two-run homer two batters later to Teoscar Hernández.
The Dodgers jumped on Holmes for four runs in four innings despite not having injured Freddie Freeman in the lineup and with Ohtani having a terrible night by his standards, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and two walks.
Jesse Chavez, back for another stint with the Braves at 41, arrived from Triple A on Monday and gave up a long homer to the first batter he faced, Kiké Hernández, to start the sixth inning. Chavez replaced Héctor Neris, who was designated for assignment after making two appearances in the Padres series and allowing five runs while recording three outs.
The unbeaten Los Angeles Dodgers rolled to a 6-1 win and the Braves fell to 0-5, their worst start since the 2017 team lost six of their first seven in a 72-90 season. That was the last time Atlanta failed to make the postseason.
Atlanta has totaled eight runs (an NL-worst 1.6 per game) and is batting an anemic .144 with a .478 OPS, both NL lows. They are an astonishing 1-for-28 (.036) with runners in scoring position, worst in baseball.
'It's not good,' Braves manager Brian Snitker said of the clubhouse mood after a fifth straight loss, on a day when the team was also hit by the Profar and López news. 'Would love to get a win. It's not fun anytime — start, middle, whatever — when you go through something like this. But you got to handle it.
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'If you handle it and just continue to come out here and work and take responsibility for what we got going on, then on the back end is usually something really good.'
No Braves team has advanced to the postseason after a 0-5 start, but Michael Harris II said this team could do it.
'For sure,' said Harris, whose eighth-inning leadoff homer against reliever Tanner Scott snapped a 29-inning scoreless streak for the Braves. 'I feel like once we get rolling, everything will get back on track. We played two tough teams so far and seen some pretty good pitching. So, I feel we'll turn it around here soon.'
Profar was suspended after a positive test for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone that is used as a fertility drug. It aids in the production of testosterone and is also known to sometimes be used after steroids. The substance is the same drug Manny Ramirez tested positive for when he was suspended 50 games in 2009.
Profar was suspended without pay, effective immediately, and will lose just over $5.8 million of his $12 million salary in this, the first season of a three-year, $42 million contract he signed with the Braves in January. He's owed $15 million each of the next two seasons in the guaranteed contract.
'You know, it's obviously tough,' Braves first baseman Matt Olson said pregame of losing Profar and López. 'This is gonna be my base answer for Profar — I'm not gonna get into it, really. It's not my story to tell. I'm sure Pro is gonna come out and say something for himself, so I'm gonna let him handle that.
'And then, tacking Lopey (the Lopez injury news) on top sucks. But we've got to strap it up and win a ballgame tonight. That's just kind of the mentality we've got.'
It's been that kind of first week for the Braves, who have two more games at Dodger Stadium before a day off and then their home opener Friday against the Miami Marlins.
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Though Snitker had known since Sunday night that López's shoulder was an issue — the pitcher notified trainers after feeling soreness in a between-starts bullpen session Sunday — Snitker said he knew nothing of the Profar PED matter until Monday afternoon.
Snitker said the team didn't know, as of Monday afternoon, how long López would be out until getting MRI results later Monday or Tuesday. But they knew Profar would miss 80 games and be ineligible for the postseason, per MLB rules.
Asked if Profar, who will be out until late June, sounded contrite, Snitker said, 'Yes, he hated it. And we hate it for him. But it was good to talk to him.'
Profar was the only free agent the Braves signed to a multi-year contract this offseason. The Braves were counting on big things from him. They believed his career-best power and significantly improved overall offense in 2024 were the result of adjustments made to his swing and stance while working with then-Padres teammate Fernando Tatis Jr. and Tatis' father, a former major leaguer.
At age 31, Profar had career-bests in average (.280), OBP (.380) and slugging percentage (.459) in 2024, when he had a career-high 24 homers and a 134 OPS+ after never posting one above 115 in his previous 10 MLB seasons.
Profar called Monday's news 'the most difficult day of my baseball career' in a statement provided by the Major League Baseball Players Association. In the release, he said he has been tested for PEDs throughout his career, including eight times last season, and that he'd never tested positive.
Snitker said Profar was scheduled to be on a flight back to Atlanta from Los Angeles on Monday night. The manager said in dealing with these circumstances, it helped that veterans and others on the team have been together through some adversity in the past, including the team's rash of injuries in 2024.
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'They're going to keep fighting and working,' Snitker said. 'I always look at that (suspension), or an injury or anything, as an opportunity for somebody else to step in and do something really good.'
Who that'll be for the Braves remains uncertain, but they made a trade with Cincinnati Monday for journeyman outfielder Stuart Fairchild, who was designated for assignment on Opening Day. The Braves sent cash in exchange for the 29-year-old outfielder, who has a .224 average and .694 OPS in 249 games over parts of four seasons with the Mariners, Diamondbacks, Giants and Reds.
Fairchild will join the team Tuesday. The Braves signed the more accomplished Alex Verdugo to a one-year, $1.5 million contract March 20, and Verdugo could end up getting plenty of playing time in left field, but for now, Snitker said he'll stay at Triple-A Gwinnett to get at-bats after missing spring training.
Profar had also been filling in at leadoff while the Braves await the return of superstar Ronald Acuña Jr., who's in the late stages of rehab from May knee surgery and likely to return by early May. Acuña has been running since winter and taking live batting practice since spring training began, but hasn't been cleared yet to begin cutting and full-bore outfield drills.
When Acuña returns to right field, the Braves could have options for left field, including Verdugo, Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz, who were platooning in right.
But for now, the options aren't anywhere near as strong as the Braves thought they'd be. They had De La Cruz in left and Kelenic in right on Monday, and Harris II moved to the leadoff spot. He hopes he snapped out of his early slump with a fifth-inning single off starter Tyler Glasnow and the homer off Scott.
'Basically, we just got to move forward,' Harris said. 'We got to worry about the guys that we have and try to win games. We haven't won a game yet, so our biggest focus is trying to win a game with the guys that we have.'
(Photo of Michael Harris II: Harry How / Getty Images)