Profar was obsessed with Braves as a kid. Now he'll star for them
Mark Bowman
@mlbbowmanATLANTA -- One year after asking fellow Curacao native Andruw Jones to help him land a deal with the Braves, Jurickson Profar will realize a childhood dream.
¡°Every Wednesday, they were putting the Braves games on TV in Curacao,¡± Profar said on Friday. ¡°So, every Wednesday at 7 o¡¯clock, I was in front of the TV to watch Andruw Jones and the Braves.¡±
Like Ozzie Albies, Jair Jurrjens, Andrelton Simmons and other Curacao natives who have transformed from young Braves fans to Braves stars, Profar watched until his parents told him it was time to go to bed.
¡°There were a lot of games where I went to sleep because I had to go to school early, and the Braves would be losing,¡± Profar said. ¡°Then in the morning, my dad and mom would tell me they won. I was like, ¡®How did they win? They were losing.¡¯ The thing I always loved was in the seventh inning, they [would do The Chop] and the Braves would come back.¡±
Profar will have a chance to create similar excitement courtesy of a three-year, $42 million deal he signed with the Braves on Thursday. The 31-year-old outfielder learned of Atlanta¡¯s interest approximately three weeks ago.
¡°I¡¯m very excited, but no one is more excited than my 7-year-old son [Khairy],¡± Profar said. ¡°I told him the Braves were interested and he was like, ¡®You gotta go there. You gotta go there. What are you waiting for?¡¯¡±
Braves fans were asking a similar question while anxiously waiting for their team to make its first significant offseason acquisition. There¡¯s still room to improve the starting rotation and bullpen. But by signing Profar, the Braves have at least created some stability in their outfield.
Profar will be the everyday left fielder and Michael Harris II will be the everyday center fielder. Jarred Kelenic will have a chance to man the right-field position until Ronald Acu?a Jr. returns from knee surgery. Once Acu?a returns, Kelenic or Bryan De La Cruz could serve as a valuable backup outfielder.
Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos viewed Profar as the second-best free agent bat available this winter, sitting only behind Juan Soto. This is something that certainly wasn't the thinking last winter, when Profar waited until just before the start of Spring Training to gain a one-year, $1 million incentive-laden deal with the Padres.
Profar was once rated the game¡¯s top prospect, but his star faded as he produced a .722 OPS from 2018-23. He produced a negative WAR while playing for the Padres and Rockies in 2023. But with the assistance of Fernando Tatis and former San Diego teammate Fernando Tatis Jr., Profar made career-rejuvenating adjustments to his swing.
Aided by the development of a leg kick and a more open stance, the switch-hitter hit a career-high 24 homers with an .839 OPS. His average exit velocity jumped from 86.5 mph in 2023 to 91.1 mph last season.
¡°I'm always working to get better,¡± Profar said. ¡°I¡¯ll prepare myself this year to be like last year, or even better. I'm very confident I can help the Braves win a lot of games and go to the playoffs and win the World Series again.¡±