For the Atlanta Braves, their big offseason move without question was signing Jurickson Profar. With Ronald Acuna Jr. out for at least the first month of the season and question marks in the corner outfield spots, getting a bat with Profar’s pedigree to play out there was a big deal. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Profar personality fits right in with this Braves squad and he grew up a Braves fan in Curacao.
Of course, adding Profar didn’t come without some risk. While he was terrific with the Padres in posting an .839 OPS and making the All-Star team for the first time, it was also far and away the best season of his career. Given the lack of success overall in his career, it is fair to wonder if Profar’s 2024 season was an anomaly.
However, the Braves were steadfast that his success was the result of tangible adjustments at the plate and not dumb luck. Profar wasted little time in beginning to reward Atlanta’s faith as he is sent the first pitch he saw in spring training to the right field corner for a double.
.@JURICKSONPROFAR 🔥🔥🔥#BravesST pic.twitter.com/xQduLrZ1qh
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) February 26, 2025
Jurickson Profar announced his arrival to the Braves with a ringing double in spring training
It is always good to see a new player hit the ground running. No one would have batted an eye if Profar was rusty in his first look of spring because, well, everyone is right now. Instead, he jumped all over the first pitch he saw and put the barrel on it.
That is what the Braves are going to need a lot of out of Profar, especially early in the season. It looks like Atlanta will use him as their leadoff hitter early in the season with Acuna Jr. off and if he can consistently set the tone offensively at the top of the order, the absence of the 2023 NL MVP is going to hurt a lot less. Once Ronald is back, Profar will probably get moved down the order and probably give the Braves the deepest lineup in baseball.
His double against the Pirates also ended up mattering in the game itself. After he took second, Austin Riley was retired before Matt Olson hit an absolute nuke to dead center for a two-run homer to give the Braves an early lead. Let’s just do that all the time, please.
