Well, the Los Angeles Dodgers' arch nemesis from last year's playoffs won't be around to incite the fans at Dodger Stadium this October. Jurickson Profar, yes that same Jurickson Profar who taunted Dodgers fans in the left field seats after a making a leaping grab during the postseason last year, has been suspended by Major League Baseball for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.
You'll have to forgive Dodgers fans, but there's no love lost between them and the Braves outfielder, so the LA faithful will surely enjoy a little schadenfreude at Profar's expense. I mean, the whole thing is rather irrelevant, don't you think?
An All-Star with the San Diego Padres last season — something that will now be further scrutinized — Profar agreed to a three-year deal with the Atlanta Braves this past offseason. Profar put up career numbers with the Friars in 2024 and used that performance to secure a three-year, $42 million deal.
Dodgers fans laughing at Padres, Braves for Jurickson Profar PED suspension
But Profar will now have spend the next 80 games on the suspended list, leaving Atlanta flailing as they try to find a solution to what will now be a gaping hole in the outfield. The addition of Cincinnati Reds' castoff Stuart Fairchild — a player the Braves traded for on Monday — isn't going to cut it.
Jurickson Profar had to be held back after a fan in the Dodger Stadium crowd threw a ball at him.
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) October 7, 2024
The whole team was on the field calming him down.
This game is getting crazy. pic.twitter.com/CJty2nuDD2
As for the Padres, this only brings back into focus San Diego's history with such PED-related scandals. After signing a massive contract extension with the Padres in 2021, Fernando Tatis Jr. was busted for PED use during the second half of the 2022 season. Tatis claimed the medication was used treat ringworm and he was unaware that it was a banned substance. Sure, Fernando.
While San Diego is off to a hot start this season, Dodgers fans are wondering if that success is sustainable. The Padres failed to compensate for Profar's loss this past offseason and are relying on veterans like Gavin Sheets and Jason Heyward to make up the difference. Good luck with that in the long run.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers are enjoying an undefeated start to the season, free of scandal and controversy. The wildest thing to happen to LA this season has been Freddie Freeman's freak shower injury. Dodgers fans are hopeful that's nothing major and that the former MVP is back in the lineup rather quickly.