Padres’ Mike Shildt shows support for Braves’ Jurickson Profar after PED suspension

Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar was suspended for 80 games due to performance-enhancing drug use on Monday, and his former manager, Mike Shildt of the San Diego Padres, threw his support behind his former player when asked about the topic.

“I love Jurickson Profar no more or no less than I did an hour ago,” Mike Shildt said, via Annie Heibrunn of SDUT. He also said that he doesn’t know the circumstances but “will love and support Jurickson.”

Profar first joined the Padres in the middle of the 2023 season, playing just 14 games after coming over from the Colorado Rockies. He stayed with the Padres for the 2024 season, when he had the best year of his career, slashing .280/.380/.459 with 24 home runs, while also posting 4.3 WAR, according to FanGraphs. That resulted in Profar signing a three-year, $42 million contract with the Braves this offseason.

Now, the Braves will be missing arguably their biggest offseason addition for 80 games. Even though Profar is eligible to return later on this season, he is not eligible for the 2025 postseason, which is a big blow for the team.

It has not been an ideal start to the season for the Braves on the field as well. They lost all four games in San Diego against the Padres in the first series of the year, getting shutout in the final two games of that series. Then, they lost 6-1. in the first game of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is not a death blow by any means, and there is plenty of time to turn things around, but it has not been an ideal start for the Braves by any means. They have two more games against the Dodgers before returning home to play the Miami Marlins in the first home series of the year on Friday.

What Padres’ Jackson Merrill must do to become true superstar

Jackson Merrill made a huge impact with the San Diego Padres in 2024, and if not for Paul Skenes hitting the ground running, he likely would have been the Rookie of the Year winner in the National League. However, Merrill can improve, and Padres president of baseball operations, AJ Preller, outlined how that can happen in 2025.

“He’s talked about it, he’s a guy that’s never satisfied,” AJ Preller said, via Rowan Kavner of FOX Sports. “I think him going and doing it again, obviously last year he was a prospect name that people knew, so he wasn’t somebody totally below the radar. But major league teams now, when they go prepare for the Padres — it changed as the year went on last year — he was a guy that was one of the top guys you had to be ready to compete against. That’s going to be everywhere he goes.”

Merrill is a focus in the Padres’ lineup alongside Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, so pitching staffs will be prepared to attack his weaknesses. Preller knows that Merrill can improve defensively and steal more bases, but the most pressing area is chase and walk rate. Merrill had a 34.4% chase rate in 2024, which was in the 14th percentile in MLB, and his 4.9% walk rate was in the eighth percentile, according to Baseball Savant. Simply, to reach his potential, Merrill needs to improve his pitch selection.

“We’ve got to be careful with that,” Padres hitting coach Victor Rodriguez said, via Kavner. “But overall, I think it’s a kid that’s smart, and he understands the things that he needs to do to be productive, and he understands that controlling the strike zone, swinging at good pitches, is going to get him in a better place.”

Merrill still hits the ball very hard, and will in all likelihood be a very productive hitter in 2025. However, improving plate discipline will make his performance more sustainable as he goes further in his career.