Top Atlanta Braves player lineup avoids injury and will be ready for MLB Opening Day.

MLB Rumors: Top Atlanta Braves player lineup avoids injury and will be ready for MLB Opening Day.

Jurickson Profar was expected to be the answer in left field when the Atlanta Braves started spring training.  That strategy still appears to be on track for Opening Day after allegedly avoiding an injury scare.

 After he landed awkwardly while attempting to make a catch on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Profar, who inked a three-year, $42 million contract with Atlanta this offseason, had excellent news from the CT scan of his left wrist. 

 Profar was diagnosed with a bone bruise after flying back to Atlanta for the CT scan. According to reports, he will be ready for Opening Day when the Braves play the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on March 27.

Profar played parts of five seasons with the Padres, including all of last season and 14 games in 2023, so the game will probably have a little more meaning for him.

 Profar's value increased this offseason after his final season in San Diego, where he recorded a career-high OPS+ of 134 (the league average is 100) and slashed.280/.380/.459 with 24 home runs and 85 RBI, both of which were career highs.

 In his new home, Atlanta now hopes that 32-year-old Profar will carry on that offensive streak. 

He is among the Braves who will probably be asked to attempt to make up some of the offensive output that will be lost because starting catcher Sean Murphy will probably be out of the lineup long after Opening Day due to a cracked rib sustained in a spring training game.

 Atlanta's outfield depth is also substantially improved by the positive news surrounding Profar.  As he recovers from surgery on his left knee to repair a torn ACL he sustained near the end of last May, Ronald Acuna Jr., the Braves' starting right fielder and former National League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player, is attempting to make a comeback on May 1.

Jarred Kelenic is anticipated to spend a significant amount of time in right field until Acuna returns.  The Braves might have started an outfield with Bryan De La Cruz, Michael Harris II in center field, and Kelenic if Profar had not been in the Opening Day lineup.