Major League Baseball suspended Atlanta Braves slugger Jurickson Profar for 80 games on Monday after he tested positive for the performance-enhancing Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), MLB announced.
The suspension of the 32-year-old outfielder is more bad news for an Atlanta team that has started the season 0-4.
He signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the Braves in January, and will be suspended through the end of June. Although he can return in July for the remainder of the regular season, Profar will not be eligible to play in the 2025 postseason.
"We were surprised and extremely disappointed to learn that Jurickson Profar tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance in violation of Major League Baseball's Joint Prevention and Treatment Program," the Braves said in a statement.
Profar, who hit a career-high 24 home runs for the San Diego Padres last year, issued a statement through the MLB Players Association, calling the announcement "the most difficult day of my baseball career."
Profar wrote in a statement that he tested positive in the off-season.
"I want to apologize to the entire Braves organization, my teammates, and the fans," he said.
He added that he "would never knowingly do anything to cheat" and that he "would never willingly take a banned substance."
"But I take full responsibility and accept MLB's decision," he concluded.
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