Should Jurickson Profar Face Stiffer Punishment After PED Suspension?

Jurickson Profar just became the latest Major League Baseball player to receive a suspension for violating the league's rules on performance-enhancing drugs. And at least one baseball commentator has had enough of players getting suspended and seamlessly moving on as if nothing happened.

Profar this week tested positive for chorionic gonadotropin, commonly used as a masking agent after completing a cycle of steroid use. His new team, the Atlanta Braves, issued a statement saying they were "surprised and extremely disappointed," as well as expressing hope that Profar would "learn."

"We fully support the program and are hopeful that Jurickson will learn from this experience," the statement reads. 

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Profar himself issued a statement, describing the result as "painful," and saying he wouldn't "cheat."

"This is especially painful for me because anyone who knows me and has seen me play knows I am deeply passionate about the game," Profar said. "There is nothing I love more than competing with my teammates and being a fan favorite. I want to apologize to the entire Braves organization, my teammates, and the fans. It is because of my deep love and respect for this game that I would never knowingly do anything to cheat it."

But as former catcher Erik Kratz said on the "Foul Territory" show, that doesn't exactly hold up.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 29: Jurickson Profar #7 of the Atlanta Braves tosses his bat after a walk during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on March 29, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

Should Suspended Players Be Punished More By MLB?

Kratz brought up that Profar, prior to his breakout 2024 season, went and "worked on his lower half with Fernando Tatis and his dad."

"They should start hitting you where it hurts," Kratz said. "All that stuff, your awards, should be stripped away. Why all the sudden do we let this just slide under the rug? Jurickson Profar is still going to get his money, minus 80 games. He still gets his contract. There's more than just it affecting the game and the outcome and the Braves now, cause he led them astray, saying that ‘Oh this was actually me, I just changed my lower half.' You went and worked on your lower half with Fernando Tatis and his dad. Just come out and be honest, let everybody be honest with what happened. Because everybody that's ever tested positive, come out and say what it is. And if you don't want to say, to me that assumes more guilt."

And he has a point.

Tatis was suspended after testing positive for a banned substance in 2022, missing the last 80 games of that season. Sure enough, Profar, after an offseason training with Tatis, is suspended in 2025. He went from one of the league's worst hitters in 2023, putting up a season so bad he was cut loose by the Colorado Rockies, to an All-Star and Silver Slugger winner. 

He was worth -1.6 wins above replacement, actually costing his team nearly two wins, to a +4.3 win player in 2024. He hit four home runs in 2021 in 137 games, then 24 in 158 games in 2024. From 2021-2023 combined, Profar hit .239 with a .327 on-base percentage and .366 slugging percentage. Just a .693 OPS. In 2024 though? He hit .280/.380/.459, an .839 OPS. 

His average exit velocity jumped from 86.5 to 91.1, with a hard hit rate increase from 31.8% to 44.4%. 

But Tatis has faced little-to-no long-term consequences for getting popped for PEDs. No one seems to care, apparently buying his "ringworm" explanation. Yes, Profar will lose out on 80 games of pay, but he still has his awards, still has the rest of his contract, and likely won't face much in the way of criticism after returning. 

Similar to how the 2017 Astros were rewarded for cheating, it doesn't seem like the consequences of cheating individually matches up with the damage caused. That needs to change.