Braves season starts off right as Jurickson Profar gets Freddie Freeman ovation

One of the hallmarks of Opening Day is seeing new faces in new places around the league, as players who changed teams over the offseason look to make a good first impression. Every once in a while, though, the stars and schedule align to make that debut also a return home.

Such was the case for outfielder Jurickson Profar, who spent the past year and a half with the San Diego Padres before signing with the Atlanta Braves in free agency this offseason. As it happened, the Braves opened their 2025 season in San Diego on Thursday afternoon, setting Profar up for a warm welcome — one that Braves fans should be all-too-familiar with.

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Jurickson Profar gets standing ovation in San Diego during Braves debut

Profar proved to be an excellent addition to the Padres after signing with the team in late August of 2023. He put together a career year last season, slashing .280/.380/.459 with 24 homers and 10 steals across 158 games and helping get San Diego all the way to within one game of the NLCS.

Amid an ownership power struggle that hamstrung the team's finances, San Diego never showed much interest in Profar. He eventually latched on with Atlanta, filling the one glaring hole in one of the deepest lineups in the league. But San Diego hardly held the departure against him; in fact, they showered him with love in his return to Petco Park.

Braves fans have been on the other end of this exchange in the past of course, most notably during Freddie Freeman's return to Atlanta with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022. Saying goodbye to a beloved player is always difficult, especially amid all the pageantry of Opening Day. But good for Padres fans for making sure that Profar knew how they felt about him in his return.