What should the Braves do with Jurickson Profar this offseason?

Ever since the Braves won the World Series in 2021, two positions have been a persistent thorn in their side — shortstop and left field. And heading into the 2027 offseason, both are once again at the top of Alex Anthopoulos’ to-do list.

It’s not for a lack of trying. Anthopoulos ran it back with Eddie Rosario in 2022 and 2023, which failed miserably. He went back to the well by re-acquiring Jorge Soler, which didn’t work either. Jarred Kelenic was supposed to be a high-upside reclamation the Braves could fix, and he flopped. And then Atlanta actually spent significant money on Jurickson Profar — the worst move of them all.

To be fair, you can’t pin all of that on the Braves. How were they supposed to know Profar had cheated his way into a massive deal with the Padres? He got busted just a few games into his Braves career, but when he returned, he closed the year strong — a .787 OPS over the final 80 games.

That inspired a little confidence heading into 2026. Then he got busted again for PEDs, this time earning a season-long suspension. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. After the first positive test, Profar played dumb, claiming he had no idea how the steroids wound up in his breakfast. It’s always a weak excuse, but the Braves accepted it because, frankly, because they didn’t have a choice.

After the second one, there’s nothing left to debate. Profar is a cheat, and there’s only one right way to handle it: release him.

Anthopoulos wouldn’t commit to that immediately after the season, but he acknowledged in his end-of-season press conference that the team would regroup and make a decision on Profar’s future.

“There isn’t anything that prevents me from talking about it,” Anthopoulos said. “What I can tell you is, we’re going to have to sit and talk internally just across the board about the whole thing.”

The financial piece is the frustrating part. The Braves didn’t have to pay Profar during his suspension, but he’s still owed $15 million next season, and there’s no getting out of it. Even so, this shouldn’t require much discussion. He torched the organization not once but twice, and there’s a real argument he cost the Braves their season. Atlanta wasn’t far from toppling the two-time defending champion Dodgers — it just needed a little more offensive firepower, and the black hole in left field hurt as much as anything.

You simply can’t let a player like that keep rotting the clubhouse. The money will sting, but there’s no place for Jurickson Profar in Atlanta. He should never wear a tomahawk across his chest again.

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Photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire