The Atlanta Braves had to get rid of one former star to make room for the former No. 1 prospect in baseball.
Yeah, Jurickson Profar is back from suspension.
In his place, the Braves designated Alex Verdugo for assignment. That takes him off the 40-man roster and puts him on waivers, where another team could claim him.
It's been a long fall from grace for Verdugo, who peaked in 2020 when he received MVP votes while with the Boston Red Sox.
Verdugo was a strong player for the Dodgers and then in Boston. He struggled in 2024 for the Yankees, and he was even worse this season for the Braves.
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The lefty Verdugo is still just 29 years old, but it seems he has lost his overall mojo.
Profar was serving an 80-game PED suspension.
He was a big offseason pickup for Atlanta after he was an All-Star in 2024 with the Padres, batting .280 with 24 homers and 85 RBI.
It took Profar a long time to realize his prospect potential, but it seemed he had done so. Now, it remains to be seen how he'll perform after the long layoff.
Atlanta is hoping, though, that he can at least do better than Verdugo's sub-.600 OPS, which shouldn't be a problem for Profar.
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