Jurickson Profar signs 3-year, $42M deal with Atlanta Braves

Outfielder Jurickson Profar has signed a three-year, $42 million cope with the Atlanta Braves, the group introduced Thursday.

In line with the Braves, Profar, who was No. 15 on Yahoo Sports activities’ Prime 50 MLB free agent listing, will earn $12 million in 2025 and $15 million in 2026 and 2027.

Profar has agreed to donate 1% of his wage to the Atlanta Braves Basis, which goals to “construct group via baseball partaking Braves Nation, reaching weak populations, and bettering fairness and entry in sport, well being, schooling and well-being outcomes for youngsters, households, and communities.”

Final season with the San Diego Padres, Profar posted a profession yr, batting .280, hitting 24 house runs and driving in 85 runs with 10 stolen bases. Amongst Nationwide League left fielders, his 4.3 fWAR was highest, and he was above the ninetieth percentile in anticipated wOBA (.364) and anticipated batting common (.283). He was additionally the sixth-best hitter by wRC+ within the NL.

Profar’s play within the discipline earned him a beginning nod in left for the NL All-Star group, and his manufacturing on the plate resulted in a Silver Slugger Award. He’ll now be a part of an Atlanta outfield that will even characteristic Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuña Jr., who’s coming back from a torn ACL.

Profar started his MLB profession with 4 seasons with the Texas Rangers earlier than he joined the Oakland A’s in 2019. His first stint with the Padres lasted from 2020-22 earlier than he signed with the Colorado Rockies. He was then launched by Colorado and rejoined the Padres.

What to make of Profar’s cope with Atlanta?

Historically one of many extra energetic groups every winter, Atlanta had been eerily quiet this offseason coming off its seventh consecutive journey to October. The Braves have been considered one of only a handful of groups that had but to signal a free agent to a assured big-league deal this winter, however they lastly received on the board with the addition of Profar on a three-year deal price $42 million.

The Padres — with whom Profar starred in his breakout 2024 season — have additionally but to signal a major-league free agent this winter, they usually absolutely would’ve beloved a reunion with Profar. However San Diego’s ongoing possession dispute and bloated payroll apparently made retaining Profar tough. As an alternative, he joins a Braves group that had an unsettled left-field depth chart that projected to characteristic the largely unproven Jarred Kelenic and up to date signee Bryan De La Cruz in a platoon of types. Now that duo can cowl proper discipline till Ronald Acuña Jr. returns from ACL damage, at which level Acuña ought to be a part of Profar and middle fielder Michael Harris II to type one of many extra harmful outfield trios within the Nationwide League.

The switch-hitting Profar and his wonderful on-base abilities will present some much-needed stability to a Braves lineup that severely underwhelmed in 2024. Whereas Profar’s plate self-discipline has all the time been stellar, it was a notable uptick in energy manufacturing supported by large strides in his batted-ball high quality that fueled his 2024 breakout that he has now parlayed into an eight-figure deal. Though he’ll now not be a major character within the Dodgers-Padres rivalry, Profar may proceed to play a key position for a group hoping to dethrone the champs in 2025. — Shusterman