It doesn't take a lot more than being a member of the San Diego Padres for a player to make himself an enemy of Dodgers fans — and Jurickson Profar has been a Padre twice. He spent a three-year stint with them from 2020-2022, but in 2024, the year the rivalry really entered a new stratosphere, Profar put himself on the map with a career-best season while also being at the center of some heated interactions with fans at Chavez Ravine.
He wasn't necessarily a Dodgers killer in the regular or postseason, but we all remember the drama of Game 2 of the NLDS that year, and Profar, along with usual suspects Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., was all too eager to provoke.
He moved on to the Braves after the 2024, cashing in on his nice year and signing a three-year contract with the Braves, but you wouldn't find a single Dodgers fan wishing him well.
So when he suspended for 80 games for performance-enhancing drugs just after Opening Day, Dodgers fans didn't feel bad. Now that Profar is facing a 162-game ban for PEDs again (!!!), it's impossible for us not to laugh.
BREAKING: Atlanta Braves designated hitter Jurickson Profar is facing a 162-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug for the second time, sources told ESPN. News free at ESPN: https://t.co/Od2Cht2QUO
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 3, 2026
Old Dodgers rival Jurickson Profar facing second ban in a single year for performance-enhancing drugs
Following his suspension last year, Profar said, "it is because of my deep love and respect for this game that I would never knowingly do anything to cheat it."
Oh, really? Are you sure about that, buddy?
Profar is only the sixth player to receive a full-season ban "since Major League Baseball increased the penalty for two-time offenders to a full season in 2014." He won't be paid the $15 million he's owed this season, and he won't be eligible for the postseason or the World Baseball Classic, where he was slated to represent the Netherlands.
You kind of have to feel bad for the Braves, who have so far gotten just 80 games out of a guy they signed to a three-year, $42 million deal, but at least they haven't had to pay him.
The question the first time around was "what made this guy think he could get away with this?" We have the same question the second time, but it's even more incredulous now.
It'll be interesting to see how Profar tries to excuse himself from this a second time, and Dodgers fans will be happy to sit back and watch him flounder.
