Braves build momentum behind Ronald Acuña Jr. as suspended Jurickson Profar nears return

New York Times

14 hours ago

ATLANTA — Jurickson Profar, the Atlanta Braves' only significant free-agent addition last winter, still hasn't played a home game for the team, because he was slapped with an 80-game performance-enhancing drug suspension during their season-opening trip.
So, it'll be interesting to see and hear the reaction at Truist Park when the left fielder makes his return and his home debut, which is expected to be July 2 in the second game of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.
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The Braves, who beat the Colorado Rockies 12-4 in a series opener Friday night, hope Profar will be able to provide a boost from the left-field position. It's been one of the weakest spots for an Atlanta offense that's been mediocre to awful in far too many games but has shown recent signs of a power resurgence.
They trailed for much of Friday night before a pair of three-run homers from Michael Harris II in the sixth inning and Marcell Ozuna in the seventh turned a 4-1 deficit into a lead that gave an embattled Atlanta bullpen some cushion with which to work, then they added five more runs in eighth for good measure against the sloppy Rockies.
Ronald Acuña Jr., who's been brilliant since returning last month from a yearlong recovery from ACL surgery on his left knee, had his third consecutive three-hit game, including a first-inning leadoff double before scoring the Braves' only run before the Harris and Ozuna homers.
It was the third win in four games for the Braves since a 3-14 skid that included six consecutive series losses.
'I feel like it was just a little weird stretch,' said Harris, who has three homers in the past six games, following a career-high 42-game homerless drought in which he had a meager .612 OPS. 'We know what kind of team we are. I feel the way we were tonight, it's who we should be. And we didn't have that over that stretch.
'I'm just looking forward to trying to be that team from here on out.'
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The Braves entered Friday in fourth place in the NL East, 15 games out of first in the division and with the fourth-worst record in the NL. They were ninth in the wild-card standings, nine games out of the final spot if the postseason would've started Friday. They hoped this win, after two homer-fueled wins at the Milwaukee Brewers, was a harbinger.
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'I mean, it's tough to get through those,' manager Brian Snitker said of the 3-14 stretch. 'But we just keep grinding away. Like I say, hopefully, it's always something that can springboard and get you going.
'These are big games, all of them. As we know, we've (made up deficits on teams) before. Not this far back, but you know what, it's possible to chase guys down after the All-Star break. But I think for our psyche and everything, these are all big games for us.'
The Braves snapped their series losing streak by winning two of three at Milwaukee in a series that featured two homers and seven hits from Acuña, who has sizzled with a .375 average, six homers and a 1.125 OPS in 19 games since coming off the injured list. His three consecutive three-hit games match the longest such streak of his career, which he did in his MVP season in 2023.
'Energy,' Harris said of Acuña's biggest contribution. 'He's an MVP, so you know the talent is there. Just brings a lot of energy up at that (leadoff) spot, getting on base and being able to be on base to cause havoc for pitchers.'
Acuña led the NL with 1.3 fWAR since his May 23 debut before Friday, when he had hits in each of his first three plate appearances. He stole second base in the fifth inning when he was running on a 3-2 count with Alex Verdugo hitting to avoid a potential double play.
It goes down as the first stolen base and attempt this season for Acuña, who walked and scored again in a five-run eighth inning when the Braves turned the game into a rout.
Acuña led the majors with 73 stolen bases in 2023, when he had 41 homers — the first and only 40-70 season in history — while hitting .337 with a 1.012 OPS. He was a unanimous choice as NL MVP.
Snitker said before Friday's game that team officials talked to Acuña about stealing bases after coming back from surgery, and he agreed he would ease into it when he felt ready. He doesn't have a red light, but Acuña was advised to be selective as to when and where to run full bore, which he's done.
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The ACL surgery was the second for Acuña, who tore the one in his other knee in 2021.
'But you see you get down the line when he has to, and the speed's still there,' Snitker said. 'I think it's just, the kid's been through a lot for having (surgery) twice. You know, at some point I'm sure he's gonna let that thing eat. But I think it's good for him to kind of (ease back into sprinting all out). I feel like he's been really smart in doing that.'
The Braves had envisioned a strong outfield with the cannon-armed Acuña in right, defensively spectacular Harris in center and Profar in left, and in less than three weeks they could finally have that group together for the first time.
'Obviously, in spring training, we were excited to have that trio,' Harris said. 'But we're still happy to have whoever's on this team to produce. When we get him back, that'll be exciting. But still got to worry about who we have now.'
Profar's eligible return date would've been June 29 if not for rainouts that pushed that back. If there's another game postponed between now and July 2, his return would be pushed back another day.
Snitker said Profar is at the Braves' spring training site in North Port, Fla., taking live batting practice as Acuña did before Acuña began his minor-league rehab assignment last month. Profar can begin playing minor-league games Tuesday and will gradually work up to playing nine innings in the field.
Profar, 32, signed a three-year, $42 million contract in January, and was penciled in as the Braves' left fielder. But he played just one series — four games at the San Diego Padres against his former team — before being suspended March 31, before a series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the second series on that winless seven-game trip.
Left field has been a figurative black hole for the Braves, with four players combining to produce a .213 average with just two home runs, a .281 slugging percentage that ranks 29th in the majors at the position and a .547 OPS that's 28th.
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Profar had career bests in average (.280), OBP (.380) and slugging percentage (.459) in 2024 for San Diego. He also had a career-high 24 homers and a 133 OPS+ that was 18 points above his previous best and 35 points above his career 98 OPS+ over 12 seasons.
He was to have been paid $12 million this season and $15 million each of the next two, but the suspension was without pay, meaning Profar forfeited nearly $6 million. He tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin, a fertility drug that's often taken after steroids. It's the drug that Manny Ramirez was suspended 50 games for using in 2009.
When they signed Profar, the Braves attributed his power and overall offensive gains made in his career-best season in 2024 to adjustments he made with his lower body in his batting stance, after working out with former Padres teammate Fernando Tatis Jr. and Tatis' father during the winter before the 2024 season.
There will be plenty of scrutiny when Profar returns, given the PED suspension and interest in how he performs after testing positive and missing half a season. Profar won't be eligible for the postseason if the Braves make it.
He will resume left-field duties that have been handled by several players in his absence including Bryan De La Cruz, since waived and signed by the New York Yankees; Verdugo, who signed with Atlanta in the final week of spring training; and Eli White, a journeyman who hit .295 with 11 extra-base hits and an .814 OPS in a 25-game stretch through May 20 but was 3-for-37 with one extra-base hit in his past 15 games before Friday.
(Photo of Ronald Acuña Jr.: Jordan Godfree / Imagn Images)