Jurickson Profar suspension is worse news for the NY Mets than the Braves

Before New York Mets fans go all Nelson Muntz on the Atlanta Braves and HA HA them, think about what they lost in Jurickson Profar. For the second straight year, Profar is expected to be suspended for PEDs. Strike two comes with a 162-game suspension.

Losing a player to a suspension can be good or bad depending on who it is. For the Braves at the moment, it’s actually far better for them than it is for the Mets.

Profar’s suspension will save them about $18 million on the luxury tax. Remember when we rejoiced about Robinson Cano getting his 162-game suspension ahead of the 2021 season and how Steve Cohen freed up some cash? The situation applies for Atlanta whose somewhat underwhelming offseason just gave them financial clearance to go out and spend a little more money.

The Braves have a chance to turn this LOL moment into a wiser investment

Profar was slated to be the team’s top DH choice. They can now go after someone else or multiple players in free agency. Adding Lucas Giolito to the rotation and beefing up that part of the roster feels like a must. There isn’t an absolutely great free agent hitter left although they shouldn’t overlook the idea of signing Tommy Pham off of another stable year where he was a Gold Glove finalist in left field for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Another ex-Pirates player, Andrew McCutchen, could always make sense as well. The freed up roster spot may make them a little more open to a trade with a more open-mind toward taking on someone’s bad salary.

Atlanta is already dealing with some significant injuries with Sean Murphy and Ha-Seong Kim beginning the year on the IL. With veteran Jonah Heim and sophomore catcher Drake Baldwin on the roster, the Braves could always end up handing some DH at-bats to a catcher whenever Murphy returns.

The timing of Profar’s suspension isn’t perfect for the Braves with slim pickins available in free agency. The fact that there are any options at all to replace him or quality starting pitchers in free agency is the kind of reward that tells us this isn’t as disastrous as it could be. The Mets were extra fortunate when Cano was suspended with that news dropping in November of 2020. It gave New York a full offseason to figure out ways to reinvest his salary.

One of the top Braves hitters now out of the picture, it’s not the mess we wish it could’ve been. The suspension isn't official just yet with the Player's Union challenging the ruling.