The return of Ronald Acuña Jr. removed one big question mark from the Atlanta Braves' outfield. But if you thought this team was past all of their many lineup dilemmas, think again. Perhaps the single biggest one hasn't arrived just yet — but it's getting closer and closer, and how Atlanta chooses to handle it could go a long way toward determining their ceiling this season.
Jurickson Profar isn't a very popular man around the South right now. Signed as the Braves' lone significant free-agent addition this offseason, his debut with the team was cut short after just four games thanks to a positive PED test. It put Atlanta's outfield in even more of a bind, forcing the team to cycle through the likes of Jarred Kelenic, Bryan de la Cruz, Alex Verdugo, Eli White and Stuart Fairchild just to try and stay afloat.
The Braves managed to weather that storm well enough until Acuña's return, although they're still 8.5 games back of the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East entering play on Tuesday. And now the other shoe is about to drop: Profar is now a month away from his return — and just a couple weeks away from being able to go out on a Minor League assignment — forcing Atlanta to choose between short-term gain and long-term development.
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How should the Braves handle Jurickson Profar's return from suspension?
Missing 80 games was bad enough, but the real kicker to Profar's suspension is that it left him ineligible to compete in the postseason this year. It remains to be seen how much rust Profar will have to knock off after missing three months of baseball, and whether his 2024 breakout was really a product of some artificial enhancements. But given the Braves' other options in left field right now, it seems hard to argue that Profar won't give the team its best chance to make a run toward a playoff spot down the stretch.
At what cost, though? Is it worth it for the Braves to put their best lineup on the field in July, August and September, when they know that they won't be able to put that same lineup on the field in October? Would that time be better spent trying to find a more permanent solution in the third outfield slot, one that will be able to actually help the team come playoff time?
Profar will no doubt get his opportunity to carve out an everyday role; and if he hits the ground running and starts hitting like he did with the San Diego Padres last season, this will probably be a moot point. You need to make the tournament to have a chance to win it, and the Braves can't afford to waste another season of this core trying to play four-dimensional chess. But if Atlanta is able to crawl back into both the divisional and Wild Card races this summer, you can bet the team will be well aware of its balancing act.