According to The Athletic, the Atlanta Braves are designating the veteran outfielder Alex Verdugo for assignment. His departure clears space for Jurickson Profar. He will return against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday after serving a PED suspension.
The 32-year-old Profar was banned for 80 games in March after testing positive for Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG). Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG) is a substance prohibited by Major League Baseball. In the four games before the ban, he went 3 for 15 with no extra-base hits and two more strikeouts than walks.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, hCG is a “hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy” that “helps thicken a person’s uterine lining to support a growing embryo and tells the body to stop menstruation. The hormone stimulates the corpus luteum to produce progesterone to maintain the pregnancy.”
Profar signed a 3-year deal for $42 million with the Braves this spring, following a great season with the San Diego Padres. Profar had a .280/.380/.459 (134 OPS+) line last season with the Padres and made the All-Star Game. He was also awarded the Silver Slugger Award and received some downballot MVP consideration.
If the Braves make the postseason, Profar will not be able to participate due to punishment for his positive performance-enhancing drug test. Of course, it’s far from a given that the Braves will find themselves in the postseason at this stage. They went into Wednesday with a 38-46 record, sitting at 7 ½ games behind the third and final National League wild-card spot. The Braves have a positive run differential, but they have one of the worst records in the majors in one-run games. If Profar can repeat anything like last year, he’ll be a huge spark in their attempts to turn it around.
On the other hand, Verdugo hit just .239/.296/.289 with no home runs and 10 extra-base hits in 56 games. Atlanta used him in just a strict platoon role, with well over 85% of his plate appearances coming against right-handed pitching. Unfortunately, Verdugo was unable to manage any better than a 65 OPS+ that would have actually been the worst mark of his big-league career if it had continued for the remainder of the season.
