Profar back in camp, confident he'll be ready for Opening Day
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NORTH PORT, Fla. -- When Jurickson Profar returned to Braves camp on Wednesday, there was really only one question that mattered. Is he confident he¡¯ll be in Atlanta¡¯s lineup on Opening Day?
¡°I¡¯m very confident,¡± Profar said. ¡°I¡¯m very, very confident.¡±
In other words, Braves fans can exhale and eagerly await seeing Profar serve as their left fielder and leadoff hitter when they open the season against his former Padres teammates on March 27 in San Diego.
Profar returned to the Braves' Spring Training complex wearing a brace on the left wrist he jammed when his glove got caught in the outfield grass as he attempted to make a sliding catch during Saturday¡¯s game against the Pirates. An MRI exam completed on Sunday in Atlanta showed no structural damage. He remained in Georgia for a couple days to receive treatment with renowned hand specialist Dr. Gary Lourie.
¡°If this happened during the season, I probably could have kept playing through it,¡± Profar said. ¡°But we are in Spring Training, and I¡¯m going to do whatever the doctors and trainers tell me to do.¡±
So what will Profar do over the two weeks leading up to the season opener in San Diego?
¡°He's going to stand in on some of the sim games to track pitches and receive treatment,¡± Braves manager Brian Snitker said. ¡°We¡¯ll just go day to day and see. The biggest thing we don¡¯t want is for him to hit too early and then it swell up. We want to make sure when he gets back out there, that it¡¯s good.
¡°Seems to me, if this was gameday, he¡¯d be in my office pounding the table to play,¡± Snitker said. ¡°We just want to make sure, because he has time.¡±
Once Profar is cleared to swing the bat and resume playing, he would have the option to get as many at-bats as he would want during Minor League games played on the backfields. He should also have time to play in Grapefruit League games before team leaves Florida on March 23 and in the exhibition games scheduled against the Cubs on March 24 and 25 in Arizona.
Profar signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the Braves after hitting 24 homers and constructing an .839 OPS for the Padres last year. He will play a key role as he fills the leadoff spot in place of Ronald Acu?a Jr., who could return from knee surgery in May.