The trajectory of the 2024 regular season for the Atlanta Braves completely changed in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates last year. 2023 National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. left a contest versus the Pirates on May 26. He was quickly diagnosed with a torn ACL
Another Braves outfielder exited versus the Pirates in a Spring Training game on Saturday.
The Braves announced on X (formerly Twitter) on March 8 that the team removed left fielder Jurickson Profar because of a jammed left wrist.
X-rays on the wrist were negative, but Profar will undergo further testing.
OF Jurickson Profar was removed from today’s game with a jammed left wrist. Initial X-rays were negative, and he is set to undergo further testing at a time yet to be determined.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 8, 2025
It’s important not to overreact to the potential severity of the injury. It’s unlikely Profar will suffer the same fate as Acuña did versus the Pirates a year ago.
Acuña missed the rest of the 2024 regular season and still hasn’t returned to the field.
But Profar exiting is one of the last things Braves Country wanted this spring. The left fielder was the team’s biggest free agent signing this offseason, as he inked a three-year, $42 million deal.
Profar is supposed to give the Braves lineup length again once everyone is back healthy.
The way 2025 Spring Training is going, though, Braves fans might begin asking whether that’s actually going to happen. Catcher Sean Murphy suffered a cracked rib on a hit-by-pitch on Feb. 28, which is expected to sideline him for 4-6 weeks.
If Profar misses Opening Day as well, then the Braves will be without three starters (including Acuña) to begin the year.
That sounds an awful lot like last year when the Braves dealt with significant injuries to Acuña, Murphy, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Michael Harris II. And Opening Day is fewer than three weeks away.
Profar slashed .280/.380/.459 with 53 extra-base hits, 85 RBI and 94 runs in 158 games with the San Diego Padres last season. With those statistics, he made his first MLB All-Star team.
Many MLB pundits have argued the 32-year-old is due to fall back to his career norms in 2025. He is a career .245 hitter with a .726 OPS.
That’s more likely to happen if he’s not healthy to begin the season. Even if Profar’s ailment doesn’t sideline him long, it can be difficult to get back into rhythm against competition which has already been playing regular baseball for weeks.
The Braves are likely to provide another more concrete update on Profar later in the weekend or early next week.
