The North Port Report: The Players Speak Out About Jurickson Profar

Here's everything you need to know from Braves Spring Training in North Port, FL from Wednesday

Welcome to The North Port Report, your nightly notebook from Braves spring training. Each evening, we’ll run through the biggest developments from camp: roster battles, injury updates, standout performances, and the small details that matter more than they seem in February. The games may not count yet, but the information does.

Here’s what stood out today

Today was the first time that players and staff were accessible to the media since the suspension of Jurickson Profar for the entire 2026 season for a 2nd violation of the league’s PED policy.

Comments were somewhat guarded, a surprise to some who were expecting/hoping/wanting the team’s veterans to rip Profar for throwing away the second chance he was given by the roster after lsat year’s suspension. With Profar still under contract for 2027, I imagine we won’t get unvarnished opinions until the possibility of his return next year is off the table (and even then, we still might not - they are all part of the same union and will run into each other even if they’re not on the same team.)

Manager Walt Weiss was the most direct, saying that he (and everyone else) was disappointed and frustrated by Profar’s actions, but that adversity was going to come up every season and they can’t let this be a distraction.

Spencer Strider spoke in more general terms, discussing whether or not the Braves needed to linger on the situation, in a video shared by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. “We can choose to acknowledge it, put it to bed, and move on from it. Or we can let it become an excuse. […] It does us no good to dwell on it.”

Austin Riley’s response was that it was unfortunate, but “we’ve got a job to do,” a sentiment mostly echoed by Matt Olson, who explained that “it doesn’t affect how we’re going about, individually and as a team, continuing to get our work done.”

While it’s possible that the players currently off competing in the WBC, including Netherlands teammates Ozzie Albies and Chadwick Tromp, have stronger feelings, they’re not expected to return to Braves camp for at least a week.

Quick Hits

• The exhibition against Colombia was hilariously sad in an ‘the talent discrepancy here is a bit too much to enjoy’ kind of way, but we did get to see some Braves prospects. Jhancarlos Lara flashed his wicked slider, getting three whiffs on three swings, but also spraying his fastballs a bit too much through the zone. Alex Lodise showed some good plate discipline on a nine-pitch strikeout in the 7th, taking two pitches up and in and laying off a slider down and away. Diego Tornes worked a ten-pitch strikeout, fouling off several pitches from a reliever over a decade older than him, but also got fooled on a changeup-heavy at-bat. He swung at a changeup in the dirt for the second strike before chasing and grounding out on a cambio down and away.

• In the “new pitch” file, Tyler Kinley has added a two-seamer, using it for the first time in his scoreless and hitless 4th inning on Wednesday. With that addition, his arsenal is now 4S/slider/curveball/sinker.

• The Braves made more moves out of camp, optioning Rolddy Muñoz to Triple-A Gwinnett and reassigning prospects Garrett Baumann and Owen Murphy to minor league camp. The spring training roster is now at 59.

• Chris Sale will take the mound opposite marquee free agent signing Dylan Cease when the Toronto Blue Jays come to CoolToday Park tomorrow for the resumption of Grapefruit League play. Spencer Strider will follow Sale in the game, an adjustment caused by yesterday’s off day.

Roster Battle Tracker

Stock UP

Eli White. The speedy outfielder, who was not in danger of being left off the Opening Day roster, nonetheless is pushing for more playing time early this season. Batting 7th, he went 2-3 with a two-run homer, turning on a 2-2 slider down and in. He actually reached in all three at-bats, but one was erased due to a defensive error by former Brave Gio Urshela.

Stock DOWN

Gio Urshela. In Twins camp as a non-roster invitee (along with former Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia), Urshela had two defensive errors while being miscast at shortstop. It’s a position where he’s not gotten a start since 2023 and has a grand total of 360 innings of MLB experience there, usually being deployed at third base instead (including when he finished the 2024 season with Atlanta)

Observation of the Day

With the understanding that Ronald Acuña Jr., not Mauricio Dubón, would be leading off, today’s lineup might have told us what Weiss plans to do on Opening Day. Baldwin was batting 2nd, followed by Matt Olson and Austin Riley. That quartet combined for five hits (in 12 at-bats) with three runs, two RBI, and one walk to two strikeouts. Now imagine it with Acuña instead of Dubón at the top.

Tomorrow’s watch list

Cease vs Sale tomorrow - that’s gonna be a fun one. Now that Spencer Strider is piggybacking with Sale, does this mean that JR Ritchie is going to be pitching in Sale’s game like usual, or will he be pushed to the road game on Friday versus the Twins?