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Yesterday, there was a report that Johan Rojas had been removed from the Dominican Republic WBC roster for “personal decisions” as termed by Nelson Cruz, decisions that have now been given a little more clarification.
As said above, Rojas is reportedly appealing said failed test.
This is sad news for a few reasons, number one of which that Rojas would consider taking PEDs. We knew that his place in the organization had slipped quite a bit from being the center fielder of the future to “maybe he’ll make the roster?” Perhaps that fall had led to his apparent decision to partake in PED usage, but now he is facing an 80 game suspension from MLB as well as not being able to participate in this or the next World Baseball Classic.
We’ll update once more information is available.
Canada 7 Blue Jays 10
It looked like a runaway, early, the Jays were up 7-0 after 2 innings. But Team Canada tied things in the top of the eighth. Then the Jays scored three more in the bottom of the inning.
Kevin Gausman cruised through his two innings, allowing a hit and a walk with two strikeouts. He looked good.
Other Jays pitchers:
Hitting, Jays starters:
Others:
On the Canada side:
The Jays have tomorrow off from spring training games, then a game against the Braves on Thursday, a 1:00 Eastern start time. The Jays will be on MLB TV as their Free Game of the Day
The Astros will host Team Venezuela for an exhibition this evening at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches ahead of this year’s World Baseball Classic.
RHP Cristian Javier is set to make his Spring debut while Team Venezuela will start SEA RHP Eduard Bazardo, who’s been scoreless through two appearances (1.1 IP) this Spring.
Isaac Paredes will make his spring debut at first base.
Tonight will mark the Spring debut for RHP Cristian Javier. In his return from Tommy John surgery in 2025, Javier made eight starts, going 2-4 with a 4.62 ERA (19ER/37IP), 34 strikeouts and a .230 opponent average. In his career, Javier has held opponents to a .203 (397×1956) batting average. Among AL pitchers to toss 525.0-plus innings between the 202025 seasons, Javier ranks first in the AL in that category. He’s also helped author several notable moments in his career, starting a combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series, as well as a combined no-hitter in June of that season at Yankee Stadium.
TODAY’S POTENTIAL RELIEVERS: RHP Sam Carlson, LHP Bryan King, RHP Michael Knorr, RHP Jayden Murray, RHP Ryan Weiss, LHP Tom Cosgrove and RHP Christian Roa.
ABOUT TEAM VENEZUELA: For the second straight World Baseball Classic, Team Venezuela will be managed by Astros bench coach Omar López. Team Venezuela advanced to the quarterfinals in the 2023 WBC prior to being eliminated by the United States in the quarterfinals. The Astros and Team Venezuela also met during Spring Training in 2023, with the Astros hanging on for a 9-8 win at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Notable players on Team Venezuela include: LHP Eduardo Rodríguez, LHP Ranger Suárez, C Salvador Pérez, C William Contreras, IF Luis Arráez, IF Eugenio Suárez, IF Willson Contreras, IF Gleyber Torres, OF Jackson Chourio and OF Ronald Acuña Jr.
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, March 3, 5:05 p.m. CST
Location: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach, FL.
TV: Space City Home Network
Streaming: SCHN+,
Radio: KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2
The Mets decisively won their exhibition match against Nicaragua 6-3, with 26 different players entering the game for the Mets over the nine innings.
The Mets play again tomorrow in another exhibition match, this time against Team Israel. David Peterson will be making his first start of the spring. The game is at 1:10 PM ET, but will once again go unbroadcast, leaving box score watching as the only option.
Puerto Rico has long been one of the most exciting teams to watch in the World Baseball Classic. This year, even though it's missing some of its biggest star power, it should still be a force.
The runner-up in 2017 after losing 8-0 to the United States in the final, Team Rubio went home early in 2023 in a dramatic 5-4 quarterfinal loss to Mexico. The lasting image from the last Classic, however, is closer Edwin Díaz being carried off the field after tearing his ACL while celebrating after striking out the side against the Dominican Republic to send Puerto Rico to the knockout rounds.
Díaz, who signed a three-year, $69 million deal with the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers this past offseason, will be back on the mound for Puerto Rico this year. But the team is missing some notable faces, most notably former captain Francisco Lindor. Several members of Team Rubio's longtime core, including Lindor, will miss the Classic due to insurance constraints that have restricted several big-name players across multiple countries from competing this year. Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny offered to pay the insurance for Carlos Correa, but the Houston Astros infielder ultimately declined.
That opened the door for Nolan Arenado, who played for Team USA in 2017 and '23, to switch teams. He played a major role in USA's run to the finals in the most recent WBC, batting .385 and going 10-for-26 with four extra-base hits and five RBIs. Arenado is of Cuban and Puerto Rican heritage on his mother's side.
With Puerto Rico set to play in its first exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox at 6:00 p.m. ET Tuesday, here's everything you need to know about Team Rubio, including the full roster, schedule and how to watch.
Here is the full World Baseball Classic pool play schedule for Puerto Rico:
6:00 p.m. ET: Puerto Rico at Colombia; Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, PR; Fox Sports 1
6:00 p.m. ET: Panama at Puerto Rico; Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, PR; Fox Sports 1
7:00 p.m. ET: Cuba at Puerto Rico; Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, PR; Fox Sports 1
7:00 p.m. ET: Canada at Puerto Rico; Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, PR; Tubi
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Puerto Rico full World Baseball Classic roster, schedule, how to watch
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Yankees fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Spring training is all about two things: staying healthy and staying optimistic. There’s nothing that we can do from the outside about ensuring that the Yankees avoid the injured list, but we can allow ourselves to be hopeful with a clean slate for the new year of baseball.
Tracking prospects goes hand-in-hand with optimism—at least if the entire enterprise hasn’t jaded you too much—so our Reacts survey this week zeroes in on a trio of young Yankees starters who have caught eyes early in camp: hard-throwing Carlos Lagrange, ascendant 2025 arm Elmer Rodríguez, and 2024 first-round draft pick Ben Hess. Across their six combined starts, the trio has thrown 16.2 innings of 2.16 ERA ball, striking out a little over a batter per inning (17 total) and walking five. But which has wowed you the most?
As a secondary question, we’re just doing a quick pulse check on how you’re feeling about the Yankees deciding to retire No. 52 in honor of 2025 Hall of Famer CC Sabathia. Are you in favor?
Vote in the survey below and let us know.
The United States came up just short in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, losing the championship game against Japan with Shohei Ohtani famously striking out Mike Trout to secure his country's third title.
The Americans were hoping to repeat, having won the tournament for the first time in 2017. Team USA's 2023 squad was loaded on offense but short on starting pitching, which the 2026 roster hopes to correct with the inclusions of Cy Young winners Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.
The Americans went 3-1 in the group stage held at Chase Field in Phoenix, losing to Mexico. Team USA faced a tough path in the knockout stage, beating Venezuela in the quarterfinals and Cuba in the semifinals to set up the showdown with Japan.
Trea Turner led Team USA with a .391 average (9-for-23) with five home runs and 11 RBIs in six games.
Here's a look back at the 2023 team:
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2023 WBC USA roster, results and stats from runner-up finish vs Japan
The Yankees faced an unconventional opponent at George M. Steinbrenner Field today: the Panamanian national team. With the World Baseball Classic on the horizon, the majority of the tournament’s participants played against MLB teams in exhibition contests today. This was one of the more lopsided results: the Yankees had little trouble scoring against Panama’s pitching staff as they cruised to an 11-1 victory in eight innings. Max Fried also threw three scoreless frames in his first Grapefruit League start; friend-turned-foe José Caballero went 0-for-2 with a walk.
The Yankees wasted no time grabbing the initiative this afternoon. A Trent Grisham walk and Jasson Domínguez single set the table with two outs for Ryan McMahon, who lined a single to center to plate both runners and give the Bombers an early 2-0 advantage against Panama starter Jorge Garcia.
Meanwhile, Fried evidently had his groundball stuff working today, as he forced inning-ending double plays in each of the first two innings. The latter twin killing against Christian Bethancourt came with two runners on base as Panama attempted to respond to the Yankees’ scoring outburst. In the third, Fried battled current Yankee teammate José Caballero with two outs; Caballero fouled off several consecutive 3-2 offerings before working a walk on Fried’ ninth pitch. He then went straight back to the dugout when Fried struck out Allen Córdoba to retire the side.
Garcia was relieved by Miguel Cienfuegos, a journeyman reliever in the Padres organization who was actually born in Quebec. Cienfuegos did an excellent job in relief of Garcia, facing the minimum in scoreless two innings of work.
Tim Hill took over for Fried in the fourth inning. Mission accomplished for No. 54, whose fastball topped out at 97 mph this afternoon. He issued three walks, but his ability to keep Panama on the ground prevented any of those free passes from haunting him. The rest of the overall line was three scoreless innings with one hit and one strikeout.
The scrappy Panamanian lineup kept getting runners aboard, but couldn’t find a way to get them in. In the fourth they got two more men on-base against Hill, but Bethancourt flew out on a first-pitch sinker.
Cienfuegos may have had the key to neutralizing the Yankees’ lineup today, but that boon did not extend to the rest of Panama’s pitchers. In the fourth, Erian Rodriguez took over and immediately surrendered a pair of singles to Giancarlo Stanton and McMahon, the former cracking it off the bat at 114.3 mph:
After a walk loaded the bases, J.C. Escarra plated Stanton on a sac fly, then a Max Schuemann 4-6 fielder’s choice ushered in McMahon.
Rodriguez’s troubles continued when he issued two walks to reload the bags for Ben Rice. That forced manager Jose Mayorga to make a change for Kentucky native Mason Vinyard (he’s not actually on Team Panama, he’s in the Yankees’ organization and was made available to Panama if they didn’t want to push their pitching staff). The new hurler was no more capable of throwing strikes; Rice worked a walk to score Schuemann and extend the lead to 5-0 before Domínguez finally rolled over to first.
By this point the Yanks had found plenty of different ways to score, but they had yet to leave the yard until the fifth, when J.C. Escarra pulled his hands in on an Alberto Baldonado fastball and pulled it to right for a line drive homer. Escarra’s first homer of the spring made it 7-0 Bombers.
By the sixth inning, all of the Yankees’ substitutions were in the game, but that didn’t stop the scoring. They loaded the bases again and Jorbit Vivas made good on the rally with a sac fly. Then catcher Ali Sánchez poked an RBI single to left for good measure, growing the margin to 9-0.
Team Panama finally got themselves off the board in the top of the eighth inning thanks to the speed of Orioles prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. Bradfield got aboard on an infield single against Osvaldo Bido, then promptly stole second and third in quick succession. Then Rubén Tejada—yes, that Rubén Tejada—brought him in on a groundball to first. That speed from Bradfield is what Panama is looking to exploit in the tournament; and frankly, few if any of the lineups they’ll face in Pool A will be as threatening as the Yankee lineup they battled today (even without Aaron Judge).
Then again, that only really extends to the starters—the reserves had their way with these pitchers, too. The defense wasn’t helping matters either. Panama got into their third bases-loaded jam of the game in the eighth thanks to an error on a fielder’s choice. That set up Vivas again, and he stroked a single the other way to score two runs and … end the ballgame.
So this is where I found out the game was being played by World Baseball Classic rules, with a 10-run mercy rule after seven. There was of course no TV or radio broadcast to clue me into this fact. Once the score got to 11-1, the game was marked final on MLB.com. So technically, Vivas got himself a walk-off single in the eighth.
By the way, over in Team USA’s exhibition against the Giants that began a couple hours later, the captain Judge kept himself busy with an RBI single in the first. He walked and singled again before departing as scheduled.
The Yankees will return to traditional Grapefruit League play tomorrow when they head to Fort Myers and take on the Red Sox in the first rivalry game of the spring. Luis Gil will oppose Boston ace Garrett Crochet, with coverage on ESPN and first pitch at 1:05 PM.
LINDOR ON THE MEND
Francisco Lindor’s rehab continues to progress on schedule, as the Mets shortstop played catch on Monday and is hoping to take batting practice on Wednesday, according to Jon Heyman. Lindor underwent surgery on February 11 to repair a stress reaction in his left hamate bone, and had stitches removed last Wednesday.
Hamate injuries, which have impacted a number of players around the league this Spring Training, typically necessitate around a four-to-eight-week recovery period. The Mets estimated a six-week timetable post-surgery for Lindor, which would bring us to March 25 — the day before Opening Day at Citi Field against the Pirates.
Lindor has been a model of availability and reliability over the past several seasons in New York. Since 2022, Lindor has missed just fifteen games, the bulk of those stemming from a back injury which he still managed to play through during the 2024 postseason. The only players with more games played in that span are Matt Olson and Pete Alonso, a pair of first basemen. If there’s anyone who can manage to work his way back into the lineup just in time for Opening Day, whether as a shortstop or designated hitter, it’s Lindor.
MCLEAN TO FACE TEAM ITALY
After dealing with vertigo-like symptoms last week, Nolan McLean is ready to go compete with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. According to USA manager Mark DeRosa, the 24-year-old right-hander is currently lined up to start against Team Italy on March 10 in what will be Team USA’s fourth and final game of pool play.
The team’s other probable starters? Two-time All-Star Logan Webb against Brazil on March 6, two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal against Great Britain on March 7, and reigning Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes against Mexico on March 9. Team USA will hope to have secured a spot in the quarterfinal round by the time McLean is handed the ball, though if a team like Mexico is able to pull off an upset, it’s possible McLean’s start could become a high-profile, high-pressure elimination game. McLean is slated to throw in a Minor League Spring Training game in Port St. Lucie on Wednesday, and plans to join the national team in Arizona later this week.
McLean is one of 17 Mets who will be playing in the 20-team international tournament, along with fellow major leaguers Huascar Brazobán (Dominican Republic), Alex Carrillo (Mexico), Clay Holmes (United States), Nick Morabito (Italy), Juan Soto (Dominican Republic), Mark Vientos (Nicaragua), and Jared Young (Canada). Former Mets, from Edwin Díaz (Puerto Rico) to Rubén Tejada (Panama), will also be participating in the tournament. Pool play will last from March 5-March 11, followed by the single-elimination Semifinal and Quarterfinal rounds. The Championship game will take place on March 17 at 8 PM ET at loanDepot Park in Miami.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Tony Vitello, looking across the field Tuesday at the greatest U.S. baseball team ever assembled, made sure to pay his respect to the Team USA player that has quietly been a monumental help to him making the transition from being a collegiate coach to manager of the San Francisco Giants.
Yes, Philadelphia Phillies All-Star first baseman Bryce Harper.
“Bryce, he’s a friend, and he's gone out of his way to help me out,’’ Vitello said. “In particular with the transition at the job and all that, but just other circumstances, too. But a lot of guys just went out of their way.
“Instead of it being like, wait a minute, you're not invited to the club. You didn't, you didn't play or do anything like that, it was like, almost a sense of urgency. 'Hey, when you get there, make sure you do this, this and this.’
“And one thing Bryce was adamant about is just a way to handle players and talk to players, but also to lean on players, because at this level, there's guys that you know. …. And there's a give and take there that doesn't really exist as much at the college level.’’
Harper, who lives in Nashville, has gotten together several times in person with Vitello, who lived in Knoxville when he coached Tennessee. Vitello also saw him on recruiting trips when Harper lived in Las Vegas, and knows his family.
“His dad and I have had good baseball conversations,’’ Vitello said. “I don't think Bryce would be who he is without his whole family, but especially the way his dad worked with him. Just some good baseball conversations with him.’’
Vitello, who was an analyst during the MLB draft last July with Team USA manager Mark DeRosa, also says that the exposure played a vital role in him landing the Giants job, becoming the first person to be hired as an MLB manager directly from the college ranks.
“DeRosa helped me a bunch on the draft,’’ Vitello said. “I don't think I'd be sitting here right now without the MLB Network people being the way they were to me.’’
Vitello also was a little star-struck seeing DH Kyle Schwarber and bullpen coach David Ross, who were instrumental in the Chicago Cubs’ 2016 World Series championship. Vitello, raised in St. Louis, took his father, Greg, to Game 7 of the World Series to witness the Cubs' first title since 1908.
“Getting to take him to see Game 7, as a lifelong Cubs fan,’’ Vitello said of his father, “can't put it into words. And Schwarber, you know, kind of started that whole thing. I believe it was right after the rain delay. … It was a wild game.
“It'll be neat to be on field level with all these guys.’’
Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why new Giants manager Tony Vitello praised Bryce Harper
The Milwaukee Brewers are set to take on Team Great Britain at American Family Fields of Phoenix on Tuesday afternoon, in what will be a tune-up for Team GBR as the World Baseball Classic is set to officially begin on Wednesday (Team GBR’s first pool game is on Friday).
The game is one of 15 WBC exhibitions taking place on Tuesday, with 15 more set for Wednesday. You can view the full schedule of exhibitions and the WBC schedule here.
Jacob Misiorowski is slated to make his spring debut in this one, as he’ll get the start. In the lineup, Blake Perkins leads off, followed by Garrett Mitchell and Luis Rengifo. Jake Bauers bats cleanup and starts at first base, followed by Akil Baddoo and David Hamilton. Reese McGuire (at catcher), Jeferson Quero (at DH), and top prospect Jesús Made round out the lineup.
Team GBR is a mixture of minor leaguers, major leaguers, and non-MLB players. The names you’ll likely recognize from the team include Nate Eaton (batting leadoff), Jazz Chisholm (batting second), Harry Ford (batting third), and Trayce Thompson (batting seventh).
First pitch is slated for 2:10 p.m. CT with a radio broadcast available via the Brewers website.
Jurickson Profar is currently set to miss the entire 2026 season after reportedly failing a test for performance-enhancing drugs for the second time in as many seasons. This bombshell news has rocked the Atlanta Braves organization, it’s rocked Braves Country and it has also rocked Profar’s pockets as well. Assuming the suspension becomes official (more on that below), that’s now $21 million forfeited of the $42 million that Profar agreed to collect over the course of three seasons playing for the Braves. That’s a whole lot of money to be throwing away in such foolish fashion but (reportedly) here we are and there’s not much that the Braves can do at this point other than figure out a way to utilize the now $18 million (Profar’s $15 million plus luxury tax considerations as well) that just got freed up at the very last minute.
So now there are a few questions as to what the immediate future holds for the Braves and Profar. Here’s what comes to the top of my mind:
Shortly after the suspension was reported by Jeff Passan, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the MLBPA was going to challenge the suspension and also file a grievance on Profar’s behalf.
Is this going to go anywhere? I mean, sure it could but the odds are heavily tilted in the league’s favor that this suspension will be upheld. The obvious example here is when Alex Rodriguez appealed his initial 211-game suspension. That still ended up with A-Rod doing 162 games on the sidelines so it wasn’t like he took a decisive victory in order to return to the field.
Also, this isn’t the first time that this has been challenged. In the vast majority of PED suspension appeals, there’s one common thread amongst these suspensions: MLB has usually done a thorough job with their investigation and was able to prove intent to use PEDs instead of it being an accident. Considering this is Profar’s second go-around with PED usage, I’d imagine that it wouldn’t be too difficult for the league to find intent here.
I’d say that this is simply the Union standing behind one of their own in procedural fashion. Again, there’s a chance that the suspension could get cut down but I wouldn’t count on it and I also wouldn’t count on it being a substantial repeal as well. This is either going to be all-or-nothing and the odds of it being “all” are incredibly slim.
As I mentioned earlier, the Braves now have a little bit of extra money to play with since that money likely won’t be going into Profar’s bank account this year. The bad news is that it’s March 3, so good luck finding any sort of real impact player at this point. Sure, the Braves could go after an outfielder or a DH but when the most appealing options are guys like Max Kepler, Jesse Winker, Andrew McCutchen or even Jason Heyward, the Braves would clearly be doing the baseball equivalent of shopping in the clearance aisle.
Of course, they could very well just stick with what they’ve got when it comes to their hitters/fielders and go with a pitcher, instead. Lucas Giolito would be the obvious name but also we’d be assuming that the Braves actually want him and that they’re still dead serious about wanting to stick with their internal options going forward. If that’s the case then it seems more likely that the Braves could go after an outfielder or a DH option and continue to place faith in their internal pitching options.
It’s frustrating in my opinion but it is what it is — Alex Anthopoulos is on record saying that he feels like the offense improving would be a bigger key to the success than the rotation and it’s understandable considering that he’s likely banking on the entire rotation not going on the 60-Day IL for a second season in a row. Still, it’s also understandable that we’re all feeling very jumpy after the injury woes that the rotation has already had to deal with. I do not envy the position that the GM is in at the moment but hey, that’s why he’s the GM and I’m some random blogger. It’s his job to figure it out.
Then there’s also the possibility that the Braves could sit on this money for the time being and utilize it later on during the season at the trade deadline. That’s a lot of cash to have freed up to take on any potential contracts at the deadline and hopefully there would be far more appealing names once that time rolls around. There’s no telling who would be available and that would certainly be a risky strategy to play the waiting game that deep into the season since there’s also no guarantee that the Braves would be in a reasonable position to buy.
Sure, we all figure that the team will still be better (even with all of the current missing names in the field and on the mound) but if we have another season of struggling to simply stay in the Postseason race then not spending the money right now could be a decision that comes back to haunt the Braves. Again, I do not envy the position that AA is in at the moment.
I’d imagine that if a lot of Braves fans had their way, the 2025 regular season finale would be the last time that we ever see Jurickson Profar put on the uniform and start for the Braves. There’s no getting around it: He’s let the team down for two straight seasons now due to making incredibly bad decisions with his judgment. There is no excuse at all for getting hit for using PEDs in this current era of baseball and it’s even more confounding when you consider that this has happened after he got paid in free agency. It would still be a bad idea but it’s one that’s understandable if you’re a hungry player looking to secure a big bag. Doing it now and throwing $21 million away is just plain foolish and it’s even worse since his absence leaves the team in a lurch.
I mentioned it in the initial article but it bears repeating: It made all the sense in the world to have Profar as the DH while Mike Yastrzemski hit against right-handed batters. Now, Yaz is going to be playing a whole lot more and the team’s depth (which they worked so hard on improving during the offseason) is already being strained due to losing Profar for the whole season and Ha-Seong Kim and Sean Murphy for a month or two. This was one of the last things that the Braves needed and for it to come from another PED suspension to Profar is just horrendous.
Depending on how the clubhouse and the rest of the organization feels, this could be one of those rare moments where the team just decides to eat the money and pay Profar the rest of his contract to stay home or play for whichever other team will take him. In all honesty, though, I could also see the Braves giving him a third chance for 2027.
As of right now, Profar would be the best currently-employed option to be the DH on the 2027 squad and assuming that they wouldn’t want to go out and find another expensive replacement, that would be an easy way to ensure stability heading into 2027. It would stink for all of us fans to think about and it would also require an astonishing amount of fence-mending on Profar’s part to smooth this over between now and 2027 but it is certainly a possibility.
Either way, the Braves now have a problem on their hands and it’s a crying shame. Jurickson Profar’s initial signing seemed like a perfect fit for a team that had been having a revolving door at left field for a long time. Now, the Braves are stuck wondering what they’re going to do since this relationship has been a very rocky one since the beginning.
Will the team stick with Profar now that he’s only getting $21 million of the $42 million that he signed on for? Will the Braves use that money immediately or wait until later on to utilize it? Will the suspension even be upheld? It’s a murky future and one that could’ve been avoided had Profar simply stayed clean. We’ll see what happens but this certainly isn’t a fun idea to think about.
Atlanta Braves designated hitter Jurickson Profar is facing a suspension for a possible second failed test for a performance-enhancing drug in less than a year, multiple media outlets are reporting.
He faces a 162-game suspension and will be ineligible for the postseason, according to ESPN, which was first to report the news. Profar, a Curaçao native, had been slated to represent the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic that begins Thursday, but is no longer eligible for that event, ESPN reports.
Profar intends to ask the players’ association to file a grievance to appeal any discipline to baseball’s independent arbitrator, Martin F. Scheinman, a person familiar with the process told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, because no announcement had been made.
Profar's agent, Dan Lozano, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the AP.
Read more:Shaikin: Will Klein isn't surprised he saved the Dodgers' World Series dynasty
Profar made his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers in 2012 and made the All-Star game for the only time in his career with the San Diego Padres in 2024. He has also played for the Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies.
After signing a three-year deal with the Braves last offseason, Profar tested positive for Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) in violation of the league’s joint drug-prevention and treatment program. He was suspended for 80 games without pay and was made ineligible for the postseason.
“It is because of my deep love and respect for this game that I would never knowingly do anything to cheat it," Profar said in a statement at the time. "I have been tested my entire career, including eight times last season alone, and have never tested positive. I would never willingly take a banned substance, but I take full responsibility and accept MLB’s decision.”
Profar played 80 games for the Braves last year, hitting .245 with 14 home runs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Time to play the World Champs again. Here’s the lineup:
CF Kwan
SS Rocchio
3B Ramirez
1B Manzardo
C Fry
DH Valera
RF Jones
2B Brito
LF Halpin
P Cantillo